Herald colleague Jerry Cornfield talked Thursday afternoon with Congressman Rick Larsen, the Arlington Democrat who was at the main table with Hu for Wednesday’s luncheon here, and then met with Hu in D.C. following his meeting with President Bush.
Jerry recounts that “Larsen said he described to the president how the picture of him hugging the Boeing employee filled a big chunk of the Herald front page. In Larsen’s words: ‘I told him it was a great spontaneous moment that everyone enjoyed. He seemed surprised and pleased to hear that.’”
Here’s Jerry’s story from Friday’s Herald. http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/04/21/100bus_larsen001.cfm
Key Quote: “Larsen said he thanked Hu for stopping in Washington state. He also pushed Boeing’s wish to fulfill China’s future commercial airline needs and Microsoft’s desire for China to work further to protect intellectual property rights and curb software piracy.”
Boeing’s Blogger-in-Chief Randy Baseler also chimed in yesterday http://www.boeing.com/randy/ with his perspective on Hu’s visit.
Key Quote: “In his remarks at the Everett factory, home of the 747, 767, 777, and 787, President Hu showed that he knew how to work the home crowd. ‘Boeing is a household name in my country,’ he said. ‘When Chinese people fly, it is mostly in a Boeing plane. I am happy to tell you that I came to the United States on a Boeing plane.’”
And reinforcing my comments about the disconnect between the reaction to Hu here and the reaction in the Other Washington, here’s a link to The Washington Post’s White House briefing blog, written by columnist Dan Froomkin. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100879.html
Key Quote: “Joseph Kahn writes for the New York Times: ‘The meeting, the first at the White House between the men since Mr. Hu became China’s top leader in 2002, was plagued by gaffes that upended months of painstaking diplomacy over protocol and staging.’”
The Falon Gung heckler clearly rattled Hu, Froomkin continued, quoting a story from the Post’s Dana Millbank.
Key Quote: ” ‘You’re okay,’ Bush gently reassured Hu. ‘But he wasn’t okay, not really. The protocol-obsessed Chinese leader suffered a day full of indignities — some intentional, others just careless. The visit began with a slight when the official announcer said the band would play the ‘national anthem of the Republic of China’ — the official name of Taiwan. It continued when Vice President Cheney donned sunglasses for the ceremony, and again when Hu, attempting to leave the stage via the wrong staircase, was yanked back by his jacket. Hu looked down at his sleeve to see the president of the United States tugging at it as if redirecting an errant child.’”
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