This morning, the Grillmaster had the opportunity to witness the arrival and formal welcome of Chinese President Hu Jintao. The whole event was quite impressive. Two of my pictures from the morning pretty much sum up my ambivalence towards China. First, the formal shake of the two executives, perhaps the two most powerful men in the world. Second, the protestor who was hauled off right in front of us. Quite the day.
I've recently come across the following thank you note intercepted by the AP...
From: President Hu Jintao
To: President George W. Bush
Dear G-Dubs,
I very much enjoyed my visit to the White House today. Your troops are most impressive, although the ones in white wigs I found a bit curious. Laura is quite the catch! State-sponsored TV doesn't do her justice.
I was a bit put off by the screeching protestor that your officials somehow a
llowed to infiltrate the press corps. I mean, she writes for the damn Falun Gong newspaper! I have seen your Fox News, so surely you know that all journalists are not objective reporters of the truth. My police would surely have made life quite unpleasant for her and her relatives, but I suppose you all have your democratic processes that must be respected. Perhaps you can find room for her at Gitmo? I kid!Seriously though, great show yall put on today. It was an honor to be received in such fashion. In a country of less than 300 million people, I can see how a crowd of 2,000 is a sign of respect. Of course, in China we could have convinced at least 25,000 of our 1.3 BILLION people to make an appearance, but hey, who's counting!
I hope we can continue the cordial relationship that we have fostered over the past years. I'm told that you're agenda is fairly open for the next three years, so perhaps you'll have time to pay Beijing a visit. I'll make sure the protestors keep their distance.
Your Comrade,
Hu
