Falun Gong Show

Perfectly in keeping with the Bush administration's canoodling of President Hu's government, which, with the help of Yahoo!, has jailed journalists for calling it autocratic, the Secret Service has charged the women who shouted down Hu in front of the White House, Falun Gong reporter Wenyi Wang, with "disorderly conduct" and is further considering charging her with "intimidating or disrupting foreign officials." Such a charge, based on Title 18, Section 112(b) of the US Code, is not known to have ever been used before.

But, of course, everything changed on 9/11 and the Bush administration displays no compunction about jailing someone for protesting the Chinese president, nor does Bush blush at the actions of the Secret Service after having called upon China to embrace freedom and openness. In front of the very White House the Secret Service would arrest a woman protesting the Chinese government's treatment of the Falun Gong, George Bush said,

China can grow even more successful by allowing the Chinese people the freedom to assemble, to speak freely, and to worship.

After this episode, I suspect that the most valuable thing Hu will take away from his trip will be a heightened appreciation for the principles of Newspeak.