In Washington, President Bush welcomed Chinese President Hu Jintao for their first White House summit. During a joint media address, Bush made a brief mention of civil liberties in China: “I’ll continue to discuss with President Hu the importance of human rights, and freedoms of the chinese people. China has become successful because the Chinese people have experienced the freedom to buy and to sell and to produce. China can be even more successful when the chinese people have the freedom to assemble, to speak freely and to worship.”

Hu followed President Bush’s remarks, but was interrupted by a protester as he began his speech. The protester, Wenyi Wang, denounced the Chinese government’s treatment of practitioners of the spiritual movement Falon Gong. Wang yelled: “President Bush, stop him from killing… Stop him from persecuting the Falun Gong.” Wang was grabbed by Secret Service officers and led away. President Bush then encouraged Hu to proceed with his remarks, telling him “You’re OK.” An administration official later said the President Bush apologized to Hu for the protester’s interruption. Although the incident made headlines around the world, it failed to reach a mass audience in China. According to CNN, the Chinese government censored the portion of its broadcast that showed the incident taking place.