Posted on 04/21/2006 12:39:37 PM PDT by Jack Black
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A heckler from the Falun Gong spiritual movement who disrupted a White House appearance by Chinese President Hu Jintao was charged in federal court on Friday with harassing, intimidating or threatening a foreign official.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington said the misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to six months in jail.
The woman, who entered the White House grounds as a reporter, interrupted a formal arrival ceremony between Hu and President George W. Bush on Thursday and shouted: "President Hu, your days are numbered. President Bush, make him stop persecuting Falun Gong."
The embarrassing episode marred the South Lawn event and created a diplomatic stir. Bush personally apologized to Hu for the incident.
U.S. officials identified the woman as Wang Wenyi, 47, a reporter with The Epoch Times, an English-language publication strongly supportive of the meditation movement that is banned in China.
Spokesman Channing Phillips said she was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service and that the U.S. Attorney's office decided to proceed by filing the federal charge in court.
The law at issue bars harassing, intimidating or threatening a foreign official in the performance of their official duties.
When she was arrested, the heckler was charged with disorderly conduct. The spokesman said that charge, under local law, could be brought later.
I assume you have proof of this?????
I'm personally disappointed in our supposedly conservative president for all the ass-kissing to this dictator. An apology for our freedoms? He should have turned to Hu and let him know that in this country people can speak their mind and keep their organs. Makes me wonder if Bush would have shared the same level of diplomacy to Saddam if we had the same trade with Iraq as with China.
Some people just don't deserve diplomacy. I think this particular communist dictator qualifies.
There were hundreds of protesters just outside the White House fence. Inside on the south lawn were invited guests and media. This woman used her press pass to advance her activism. She insulted our President and our country, in the same way that Code Pink women insulted the President and our country when they disrupted the Inaugural Address.
And they were charged under what federal statute?
Really, they my have been charged, I don't know one way or the other.
How stupid.
This was not a forum for shouting out complaints at a visiting head of state.
Such behavior is against the law for a good reason.
Perhaps you think libs should have been allowed to drown out President Bush's inauguration with screaming and shouting protests?
Are you kidding?
Thank you! A voice of reason, finally.
I'm trying to find the full translation - please post if you find it - I think this is the woman in question: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.biostat.jhsph.edu/people/student/wang_w.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.biostat.jhsph.edu/people/student/wang_w.shtml&h=215&w=170&sz=10&tbnid=iaa3sV0qypSqqM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=79&hl=en&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522Wenyi%2BWang%2522%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff
Is she spending the night in jail involuntarily?
I am not referring to this Chinese doctor, but to Code Pink/ANSWER/rentananarchist-type protesters who do not consider that they have had a successful protest unless they are dragged away by LEOs.
Fair enough.
Perhaps a foreign dignitary receives more federal protection, by law, than our President?
You don't get it. I'll explain it again.
She wasn't arrested because she heckled or protested. She was arrested for threatening the head of state. It doesn't matter what country the head of state was from - it could be Sudan for that matter. Americans can not threaten visiting heads of state or Presidents without being arrested and without consequences - period.
His days are numbered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March in the streets, preaching sedition, while in the country illegally...no legal response whatsoever.
Smack an "uppity" Capitol cop, "while guilty of being black in Congress"...'still investigating' after two weeks.
'Upset' a Commie dictator...charged within 24 hours.
We all know what is wrong with this picture; the question is, what to do about it?
So are Washington's: Give away the store, and apologize for having dared to ask for a signature on the I.O.U.
While some will scoff at my suggestion on what to do, I will throw it out there again.
Contact elected officials and members of the media. I will paste a press release on a recent Congressional Hearing on China and its human rights issues.
Follow the link below for witness testimony, links to contact elected officials and further information.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/nj04_smith/prChinaHearing.html
Smith Hearing Examines Human Rights in China on Eve of President Hu’s Arrival in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Chris Smith, Chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees Global Human Rights, led a hearing earlier today that examined China’s human rights record – including areas such as China’s compliance with international labor standards, censorship of the internet, implementation of the right of Chinese citizens to worship freely, and the destructive effects on Chinese society of its government’s coercive one-child policy.
"I have eternal hope that President Bush will raise these fundamental human rights concerns in his meetings with President Hu," said Smith.
"The Chinese government simply cannot let their population increasingly experience the freedom to buy, sell and produce while denying them the right to assemble, speak and worship as they choose."
"Over the years, I have held 25 hearings on human rights abuses in China, and while China’s economy has improved somewhat, the human rights situation remains abysmal. So-called economic reform has utterly failed to result in the protection of freedom of speech, expression, or assembly," said Smith.
"It is important to note that the freedoms that we enjoy in America allow individuals to publish information and news on the Web unfiltered – even from within the walls of Congress," Smith said.
"Those freedoms do not exist in China and individuals who attempt to speak freely are imprisoned and even tortured, and US corporations should not be aiding in that process."
BACKGROUND: The visit of President Hu Jintao of China to the United States provides the Congress an opportunity to review human rights conditions in China.
In previous years before high profile visits, the PRC government has released from prison political dissidents such as Uighur businesswoman Rebiya Kadeer, sentenced to eight years prison in 2000 for sending press cuttings overseas and "endangering national security" and who was released March 14, 2005 before the Beijing visit of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
(Her testimony is available through the link.)
State Department human rights reports and other NGOs indicate that Chinese government repression of its citizens continues.
Beijing has increasingly viewed the information available on the internet as a potential threat to the central government's ability to control the population and has created one of the most internet restrictive countries in the world, where cyber-dissidents like Shi Tao are arrested and imprisoned.
China’s continued repression of religion is among the most despotic in the world.
In February, the BBC reported that China had warned Hong Kong's newly-appointed Cardinal, Joseph Zen, a well-known critic of China's suppression of religious freedoms, to remain quiet on political issues.
Citizens practicing a faith other than officially sanctioned religions are often subject to torture, imprisonment, and death, at which time prisoner organs are frequently harvested to meet demand.
Those that dare to question China’s forced abortions and sterilizations face beatings and imprisonment, such as Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer who has publicly opposed China’s coercive one-child policies.
Finally, there is no recourse for millions of Chinese laborers trapped in poor working conditions, as those who protest unjust wage and labor practices outside of the government-sponsored labor union are arrested and imprisoned.
WITNESSES:
Ms. Thea Lee, Assistant Director of Public Policy, AFL-CIO
Steven Mosher, Ph.D., President, Population Research Institute
Mr. Ethan Gutmann, Author, Losing the New China: a Story of American Commerce, Desire and Betrayal,
Mr. Harry Wu, Executive Director, Laogai Research Foundation
Mr. Lu Decheng, 1989 Tiananmen Square Protestor
Mr. Joseph Kung, Director, Cardinal Kung Foundation
Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, President, International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation
follow the link above for Testimony from the witnesses
follow the link above for Rep. Smith’s Opening Statement
Thanks for that information.
I'll be doing some contacting...politely.
I'll also (as always) be carefully evaluating my November ballot choices.
"More evidence that Bush is out of touch with reality."
See my tag line. This is just another example of contempt for freedom. Complete contempt. "We are your masters. Sit down and shut up. You will NOT disrupt our show."
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