Heckling Hu

I found this story about the Falun Gong supporter who sneaked into the White House press corps and heckled Chinese Prez Hu Jintao during the formal welcoming ceremony pretty damned amusing.

First of all, whassup with White House security?

Second, Chinese people have no idea the incident occurred. Footage and press mention was censored back home so they got the standard Wally & Beaver cover of Bush and Jintao shaking hands and playing nice.

Third, reading a bit about Falun Gong was surprising; The Chinese government claims they have only a few million members. The FG, on the other hand, says they're 100-million strong worldwide. One statistic shows their membership as exceeding China's Communist Party membership. No wonder there's an attempt to suppress them.

I also didn't know that Qigong is at the group's origins and that the FG has only been around officially since 1992. That's a tremendous following in a very brief time period. Again, no wonder the Chinese gov't is a bit concerned. That, however, does not lend credence to brutalizing followers in an effort to stamp them out.

This coincides beautifully with a passage I read from P.J. O'Rourke's Peace Kills just two days ago whilst lounging on the beach. Referring to America's foreign policy, he writes:

..when America acts, other nations accuse us of...engaging in 'unilateralism', of behaving as if we're the only nation on earth that counts.

We are. Russia used to be a superpower but resigned 'to spend more time with the family.' China is supposed to be mighty but the Chinese leadership quakes when a couple of hundred Falun Gong members do tai chi for Jesus...

Well a few more than a hundred & Jesus doesn't come into the picture but you get the point...