Guilty of intimidation by raised voice?
This puts a new complexion on the Hu press conference disruption. I guess instead of White House plant, I should have said classic Rovian set-up. I wasn't aware that the Falun Gong movement was spiritually based and so widely discriminated against in China, so the publication alone should have alerted the administration when they were giving out the press passes. If not the name Wenyi Wang certainly should have.
They let her in, fully knowing (or at least they should have known) her history of speaking out. I mean, her having had breached security and literally gotten into the last Chinese president's face should have tripped a little red flag, don't you think? It's tantamont to putting Cindy Sheehan on the guest list for a staged Bush town meeting. And now they're talking about charging her under some obsure federal statute that apparently has never been prosecuted. Atty. Tood has the details.
Diabolically clever. It sends a chill through the First Amendment that makes me shiver too.
They let her in, fully knowing (or at least they should have known) her history of speaking out. I mean, her having had breached security and literally gotten into the last Chinese president's face should have tripped a little red flag, don't you think? It's tantamont to putting Cindy Sheehan on the guest list for a staged Bush town meeting. And now they're talking about charging her under some obsure federal statute that apparently has never been prosecuted. Atty. Tood has the details.
Last night, officials with the Secret Service, which eventually dragged Wang away and arrested her -- literally seconds after Bush called on China to permit more free speech -- said they are seriously considering charging Wang with an obscure federal offense, intimidating a foreign official.It's a twofer. Bush gets to embarrass Hu without being held responsible for it and he gets to intimidate any other American who might be thinking of spontaneously shouting out something about his presidency by throwing Wang in prison as an object lesson for dissenters.
According to our research, Wang -- a permanent U.S. resident who reportedly practices pathology at Mt. Sinai Hospital -- could face a fine and federal prison time of up to six months.
Diabolically clever. It sends a chill through the First Amendment that makes me shiver too.
posted by Libby Spencer at 8:32 PM
5 Comments:
Last night, officials with the Secret Service, which eventually dragged Wang away and arrested her -- literally seconds after Bush called on China to permit more free speech -- ...
This is exactly why I don't think the event was orchestrated. Having somebody arrested for speaking out right after praising China for loosening restrictions on speech? Its too ironic even for this administration.
But he wasn't praising him yerhonor. Bush was scolding him for cracking down on free speech. They're arresting people left and right there and filtering out international news from the internets. That's the whole flap about Google and Yahoo. I just read that TV stations aren't allowed to use international feeds anymore either.
Not that I think there's anything too ironic for this administration. I doubt this woman would have allowed herself to be compromised by the WH. She probably thought she had pulled one over on them.
I think they knew she was likely to do something like this but they just didn't know when. I'll bet they were watching her and they let it happen. It fits their agenda.
I am well aware of China's human rights abuses, but the president did praise Hu in spite of those abuses. This is from an earlier post from Attatude that wrote about yesterday
China has become successful because the Chinese people are experience the freedom to buy, and to sell, and to produce -- and China can grow even more successful by allowing the Chinese people the freedom to assemble, to speak freely, and to worship.
Seconds later, the protester spoke out, and was arrested.
I guess it's a difference in intepretation yerhonor. I see that statement as being critical, not praising him. I mean Bush come right out and tell Hu he's a creep but standing there telling another world leader how to run is country I would think is kind of insulting to Hu.
LOL Exile. It is a little spooky isn't it, especially considering it looks like we also agree on that tshirt case in the 9th Circuit.
Maybe it's just the planets. Our vehement disagreements are sure to resurface any day now. :-}
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