Dave Porter Weblog: OR: What the shouting was all about

August 26, 2007

OR: What the shouting was all about

Editorial appearing in the Oregonian 8/26/07, titled "What the shouting was all about:"

Zhou Wenzhong, ambassador extraordinaire and plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the United States, had barely begun speaking when the shouting started.

Zhou, the guest of trade officials, business leaders and the World Affairs Council of Oregon, was about to deliver a stinging response to recent criticism of China about the safety and quality of its exports. He is a personable, pleasant man, an accomplished diplomat. But his speech was tinged with steel. Get this straight, America, he told the group, we want to be friends, but we are criticized unfairly and you provoke us with your sale of advanced weapons to our estranged brothers and sisters in Taiwan.

The shouting from the street outside continued. It was impossible to understand from inside the room, but that was clearly not the intention anyway. The shouting was about Tibet, where there wasn't just the hint of steel but the reality of it, cold and raw, as China crushed an independent nation and drove the Dalai Lama into exile. The demonstrators' object was to disrupt Zhou, of course, but also to bear witness, to the lunch-hour strollers, joggers and drivers outside, that something vital was being discussed -- and not just at the luncheon inside.

At the head table, the unhappiness was palpable. The ambassador's wife, Xie Shumin, conferred with an assistant and fixed the World Affairs Council's president, Maria Wulff, with an angry glare. She searched for a pen -- Wulff gave her one -- and paper, finally resorting to the back of a place card. She scribbled and handed the place card to Wulff, and Wulff jotted a reply. Another scowl and another note. This time Wulff's answer seemed longer. A short reply from Xie and another reply from Wulff, but this time Xie waved it off and pointedly turned away.

Wulff would not share the notes but said they were an exchange about the nature of free speech, civic hospitality and the powers of the police.

Then the speech was over. The shouting outside dissipated, and it was left to Wulff to stand up and try to explain things.

Americans regard free speech as sacred, she said. Not always easy, but sacred. Those in the ambassador's retinue seemed doubtful. The shouting outside died down.