Bush Apologizes To Hu For Protester
Heckler Accuses Chinese Leader Of Religious Persecution During W.H. Ceremony
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Play CBS Video Video China's Pres. In Washington Chinese President Hu Jintao's White House visit was interrupted by a lone protester. As Jim Axelrod reports, when the two world leaders met later, there didn't seem to be any breakthroughs on Iran.
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Video Protester Disrupts Hu Visit Chinese President Hu Jintao was greeted by President Bush on the White House's south lawn, but a protester began shouting during the welcoming ceremonies. Claudia Coffey reports.
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Video Woman Heckles President Hu CBS News RAW: During Chinese President Hu Jintao's speech, a woman began screaming at him for several minutes before being escorted out by police.
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A Secret Service officer covers the mouth of a protester as she is escorted from the camera stand after she disrupted the speech of Chinese President Hu Jintao, on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, April 20, 2006, in Washington. (AP)
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President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao toast each other during a lunch in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, April 20, 2006. (AP)
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President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao, left, take part in a South Lawn arrival ceremony, Thursday, April 20, 2006, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
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Chinese President Hu Jintao tries on a Boeing baseball cap while visiting the aircraft giant's plant in Everett, Washington, on April 19, 2006, days after China sealed a $5.2 billion deal to buy planes. (AP)
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Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, toasts with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, left, at the head table Tuesday, April 18, 2006 at Gates' home in the Seattle suburb of Medina, Wash. (AP)
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Photo Essay China's President Visits President Bush welcomes Chinese President Hu Jintao to the White House, but not without incident.
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Mr. Bush later addressed the matter when he met with Hu in the Oval Office. "He just said this was unfortunate and I'm sorry it happened," said Dennis Wilder, acting senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council staff.
CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod reports the woman was a protester with the Falun Gong movement, a group that says it is persecuted in China for its religious beliefs. She yelled at President Bush, "Stop him from killing. Stop him from persecuting the Falun Gong."
Chinese state television didn't run the demonstration and the BBC's report about the censoring was censored, adds Axelrod.
Wilder said Hu was gracious in accepting Mr. Bush's apology. The two leaders moved on in their talks and it was not mentioned again in several hours of meetings. Hu and Mr. Bush sat next to each other at an elaborate luncheon, a departure from traditional protocol, which would have them at different tables.
Chinese leaders place high importance on symbolism and protocol. White House officials have worked with Chinese counterparts for months on every detail of Hu's visit.
"I would be extremely surprised if the Chinese blamed us for this," Wilder said.
The woman began shouting from the top of a camera stand that had been erected in front of the two leaders on the South Lawn.
The Secret Service identified her as Wenyi Wang, 47, and charged Wang with disorderly conduct. A Secret Service official tells CBS News the U.S. Attorney is weighing a further charge of "willingly intimidating or disrupting a foreign official."
Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin said Wang had gained access to the event with a temporary White House pass and had been cleared through all the appropriate levels of security.
Stephen Gregory, a spokesman for the Falun Gong-affiliated newspaper The Epoch Times, said she had received a press credential through the newspaper. He identified her as a doctor with a specialty in pathology, a Falun Gong practitioner based in New York.
She shouted in Chinese and in heavily accented English: "President Bush, stop him from killing" and "President Bush, stop him from persecuting the Falun Gong."
Mr. Bush, standing next to Hu, leaned over and whispered to him, "You're OK," indicating the Chinese leader should proceed with his opening remarks. Hu, who had paused briefly when the shouting began, resumed speaking.
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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