Good for Her!

Washington Post: Falun Gong Activist Defiant After Arrest---

The protester who disrupted a White House ceremony for Chinese President Hu Jintao remained defiant yesterday, even after prosecutors charged her with a federal crime punishable by up to six months in jail.

"It's not a crime but an act of civil disobedience," Wenyi Wang declared after she emerged from a hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, drawing cheers from nearly three dozen fellow activists from Falun Gong, a religious sect that is suppressed in China.

Wang, 47, a doctor who lives in New York, got onto the White House lawn Thursday morning as a credentialed journalist for a newspaper associated with Falun Gong. She was arrested by the Secret Service after she began yelling from a media platform. The outburst interrupted Hu's remarks at the ceremony, attended by President Bush and other leaders, and created an embarrassing situation for the White House.

Wenyi Wang is absolutely right: this was "an act of civil disobedience." To say otherwise is to be ridiculous. In places like China they lock people up for freely expressing their opinions---in the United States we are supposed to be better than that.

Thursday's disturbance lasted more than two minutes as Wang unfurled a yellow protest banner and shouted at Hu, and then Bush, in Chinese and English. The Secret Service said that she said things including, "Stop oppressing the Falun Gong," "Your time is running out" and "Anything you have done will come back to you in this lifetime." She also exclaimed: "President Bush, stop him from killing! President Bush, stop him from persecuting Falun Gong!"

Prosecutors maintained that the yelling at Hu was threatening and constituted a crime -- willfully intimidating, coercing, threatening and harassing a foreign official. Wang's attorney characterized it as free speech. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson turned down a defense request to dismiss the case and set a follow-up hearing for May 3.

How exactly did Wenyi Wang threaten, intimidate, or coerce Hu? I've seen worse from the illegal alien marches, not to mention the Lib Wacko Anti-War marches.

Hu deserves to be harassed. He deserves to be embarassed. He deserves to be shamed into allowing the Chinese people their God-given Freedom.

Good for Wenyi Wang for reminding us.

And President Bush ought to be ashamed for not stepping up to the plate. This was a perfect opportunity for George W. to affirm what "FREEDOM OF SPEECH" really means, rather than take a page out of Hu's book. For shame, Mr. President!

Michelle Malkin has video and more.

Church and State also has more, including Rush Limbaugh's take on Hu's speech.

I just have to include this portion, of Rush's personal "translation" of the speech, because it is hilarious:

"You are a bunch of weak, devout cowards, more interested in watching American Idol than you are in defending your weak, pathetic capitalist pig country -- and, by the way, the way you portrayed us as inept on your show "24"? We knew Jack Bauer was alive all the time. He's not worth dealing with. "

"We will bury you. "

I LOVE the Jack Bauer part. Hilarious!

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