Wenyi Wang, White House Heckler, Charged with Threatening Chinese President
Robert Paul Reyes
April 22, 2006
Wenyi Wang, 47, the protester who heckled Chinese President Hu Jintao during a White House ceremony was charged with a federal crime punishable by up to six months in jail.
This wild woman was allowed to rant and rave for about two minutes, before she was arrested and removed from the press area by the Secret Service.
In our democracy we cherish freedom of speech, but Wang overstepped the bounds of propriety and common sense. She was rude and inconsiderate, the only thing she accomplished was to embarrass President Bush and irk President Hu Jintao.
Wang was covering the ceremony as a credentialed journalist for the "Epoch Times".
According to Wikipedia the "Epoch Times" is a Falun Gong-linked, politically conservative Chinese newspaper distributed free-of-charge in ten languages.
Falun Gong is a Buddhist-based cult-like movement with millions of members, it was banned by the Chinese government in 1999. Why was a reporter for a cult's newspaper given a press pass?
The Bush administration does not have a good track record for properly screening individuals who cover White House events. Remember Jeff Gannon who had extensive experience working for several escort services, but very little experience as a journalist? Gannon routinely obtained daily passes to White House briefings because he had a penchant for asking softball questions.
Prosecutors argue that Wang's rant was a crime -- willfully intimidating, coercing, threatening and harassing a foreign official.
I hope that Wang's histrionics will earn her time behind bars, where she will have plenty of time to repent of her outrageous behavior.
This wild woman was allowed to rant and rave for about two minutes, before she was arrested and removed from the press area by the Secret Service.
In our democracy we cherish freedom of speech, but Wang overstepped the bounds of propriety and common sense. She was rude and inconsiderate, the only thing she accomplished was to embarrass President Bush and irk President Hu Jintao.
Wang was covering the ceremony as a credentialed journalist for the "Epoch Times".
According to Wikipedia the "Epoch Times" is a Falun Gong-linked, politically conservative Chinese newspaper distributed free-of-charge in ten languages.
Falun Gong is a Buddhist-based cult-like movement with millions of members, it was banned by the Chinese government in 1999. Why was a reporter for a cult's newspaper given a press pass?
The Bush administration does not have a good track record for properly screening individuals who cover White House events. Remember Jeff Gannon who had extensive experience working for several escort services, but very little experience as a journalist? Gannon routinely obtained daily passes to White House briefings because he had a penchant for asking softball questions.
Prosecutors argue that Wang's rant was a crime -- willfully intimidating, coercing, threatening and harassing a foreign official.
I hope that Wang's histrionics will earn her time behind bars, where she will have plenty of time to repent of her outrageous behavior.
Print
Email
