White House China protester charged

WASHINGTON - A heckler from the Falun Gong spiritual movement who disrupted a White House appearance by Chinese President Hu Jintao was charged today with harassing, intimidating and threatening a foreign official.

The woman, who entered the White House grounds as a reporter, interrupted a formal arrival ceremony between Hu and President George W. Bush on Thursday and shouted: "Stop oppressing the Falun Gong."

According to the court documents, the woman, identified by US officials as Wang Wenyi, 47, also yelled at Hu, "Your time is running out" and "Anything you have done will come back to you in this lifetime".

The episode marred the South Lawn event and created a diplomatic stir. Bush personally apologised to Hu for the incident.

US officials said Wang entered the White House grounds as a reporter with The Epoch Times, an English-language publication strongly supportive of the meditation movement that is banned in China.

The misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to six months in jail. The law at issue bars willfully harassing, intimidating, coercing or threatening a foreign official in the performance of their official duties.

Dozens of Wang's supporters turned out in her support today. Afterward, outside the courthouse, they held up signs complaining of mistreatment at the hands of the Chinese government.

Wang did not say anything during the hearing lasting about 30 minutes.

But her court-appointed lawyer, David Bos, challenged the criminal charge on free-speech grounds.

"It's making the First Amendment rights of all Americans just evaporate," he said, calling Wang's remarks "relatively innocuous".

Angela George, from the US attorney's office, said Wang had gone beyond political speech and that the verbal attack was personally directed at Hu.

George argued that Wang's First Amendment rights did not allow her to violate the law.

US Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson did not rule on the free-speech issue. She refused to dismiss the criminal complaint against Wang, saying it was too soon to make a decision about throwing out the case.

Robinson released Wang without bail, but ordered her to stay away from the White House.

- REUTERS