China Detains White House Press Plane

BEIJING — A charter airplane carrying the White House press corps was detained for nearly three hours Friday at Beijing's international airport not long after President Bush arrived to attend the Olympic Games.

The flight crew of the Northwest Airlines 747 had been expecting to park at a VIP terminal, but after landing was instead directed by the control tower to a normal international gate.

White House officials would say only there were "logistical problems" getting clearance to unload the aircraft. The flight crew was told the Chinese were insisting that all luggage be inspected.

Typically, the White House press charter receives the "custom of the port," meaning reporters, photographers and camera crews are able to get off the plane right after landing, board buses and head to their hotels and work areas while U.S. State Department officials process immigration and customs details.

Delays on landing have happened before, but no one on the plane was able to recall one this long.

The plane landed at 2:10 a.m. local time. Passengers finally were able to get off the plane shortly after 5 a.m. However, they were made to pass through Chinese immigration control individually, and baggage was still being screened.

Many of those on the plane _ roughly 40 journalists _ were due to cover the president's first appearance of the day: the opening of the new Beijing U.S. Embassy complex.

Comments

[FOXYLADY]

WELL, PERHAPS THAT IS WHAT OUR SECURITY PEOPLE SHOULD DO WHENEVER 'ANY' CHINESE ENTER THIS COUNTRY...­..CHINESE CITIZENS OR THEIR DIPLOMATS.­....SEEMS TO ME TO BE A SMART MOVE!!

[Troubledgoodangel]

I would summon the Chinese Ambassador in Washington immediately together with his press corps, and have the police to do a body search for WMDs

[patianneb]

SUMMON the Ambassador? That's funny!

[Lukester]

Yeah! Let's send them all to Gitmo.

[paixa3]

That is really ignorant. There is a valid difference between diplomatic corps and press corps. I guess you have not travelled the world much eh? You reak of ignorance.

[pros54]

Don't we fingerprint every foreigner coming into this country? Are we not the ones with no fly list? people just like crying wolf all the time and seeing disrespect and slight where no existsJ journalists are not diplomats they are business travellers "News Business", no more no less.

[BruceNM]

Uh, that's what our bureaucrats and paranoid functionaries DO do to Chinese arriving in the US, US citizens returning to the US, and to anyone else that they have a mind to harass.

[Americatortures]

I guess this is more of the "freedoms" the Communist Chinese offer up to the rest of the world!!

[JoeBlough]

With all the money the U.S. has borrowed from China, they pretty much own us. They can detain the plane if they want to, think of it a collateral on their loans to us.

[Troubledgoodangel]

We have catapulted China to greatness with our know how! We owe them nothing!

[patianneb]

It makes me sad to say this but have you checked into what's happened to OUR freedoms lately ...?

[marymansour]

That's kind of funny actually!

[truthynesslover]

china is just an americanand internation corporation with a chinese flag.Its Nice to see how much weve changed their behavior and how much theyve change ours.Who do you think has changed more?

[Troubledgoodangel]

In terms of who became more bully, China did. America is quickly becoming a pushover of China!

[Americatortures]

That's because they have over 40% of our debt in their "IOU" folder!!!

[frappe]

I wonder what percentage of China's economy and growth is dependent upon and attributable to "free access" to the American economy?

[knowhelpnow]

Way to much and they have our jobs too!

[Troubledgoodangel]

Zero, zilch. It is America who has sold her economic soul to China!

[paixa3]

Excellent and correct point. The USA approached them because they had (big business) wanted to sell their soul for more profits. They did an excellent job of it in the short term......­......the long term, that is another discussion.

[Durango]

That is the trouble with the press, and not just the White House Press Corps. (although they seem the worst)

They get used to sucking up to the rich and powerful and enjoying the perks and privileges available when they toe the line.

Isn't it a pity when they are treated as regular people rather than the elite celebrities they perceive themselves?

Lapdogs are more like it.

[Devver]

Now wait a minute....­are you telling me that there were no press guys to report on GW?? Holy crap!! It's just good to know that while we are trying to feed our kids, put gas in our tanks, and keep our homes, our man in charge (a minute....­I just threw up in my mouth a little) can take a trip to China for the Olympics instead of trying to figure out how to help us HERE. And now... no press? Poor Dub!!

[KoolBreez]

At least the Chinese don't fingerprint tourists the way we do..

[Ratso]

What? You suggest the USA is more controlling than the China. Wow, where have you been the past 50 years?

[Troubledgoodangel]

China is not respecting the U.S. as a Superpower!

[Furby]

No they aren't. What does that tell us about the "superpower" status of the US?

[wvinvent]

There is no comparison between America and the Chinese Police State. Wake up.

[truthynesslover]

Yup its sooo much worse here! LOL

[Lemeritus]

Sitting here, wondering: where's the outrage? My countrypeople -- indeed, the holy monks and abbesses who toil daily to provide us with a free press which is, according to Junius, the "palladium of all the civil, political, and religious rights" -- were DETAINED by the Chinese! Inconvenienced and made to inch their way through cumbersome customs! And yet... we're not actually talking about terriers of truth, are we? rather the lapdogs in the White House Press Corps... not quite Americans at all.

[FOXYLADY]

AAAHHHH LEMERITUS.­.........V­ERY GOOD POST!! SEEMS TO ME I'VE LIKE MANY OF YOUR WRITING ON HUFF......­....

[ProfessorDuh]

The White House press corps is quite accustomed to kissing totalitarian butt, so I'm sure they won't mind.

[Soothsayer08]

To bad they didn't mistake Bush's plane for the one the Press corps was in. That would have really been funny, and well deserved.

[FOXYLADY]

GREAT COMMENT

[gcallaghan]

If the media had exercised their rights during this administration's criminal reign of ruin and terror and displayed their combined power to the world, this would never have happened. Instead, they revealed themselves as a timid pack of propagandists and hacks only interested in covering the lives of celebrities while war crimes abound. You really do reap what you sow.

[ivegotblisteronmefingers]

I do agree indeed.
Instant Karma!
would it were that they would learn any manner of lesson from this and look at their own behavior.
Oh well , at least we still get to watch nubile young girls bounce around the gym.

[frappe]

Instant karma is good :) Reap what you sow.

[957]

I second and third that like congress the press has been bullied and running scared of this administration, since they were elected truly history should record the past years right up there with how the russians ran things in the 60's.

[knowhelpnow]

I wonder if those anthrax envelopes had anything to do with it. It was so convenient that the guy just happened to kill himself right before charges were to be filed.

[moontriangle]

sounds like a bit of slap slap for Bush's criticism the other day.

[Troubledgoodangel]

It's a slap in the face of every American! All corporations who are doing business with China should vehemently protest, not just White House!

[truthynesslover]

I wouldnt hold my breath.You dont look a gift horse in the mouth as they say.

[JoeBlough]

you are probably right. Since we have out-sourced all our jobs to China, I guess we could make the arguement that China works for us.

[rmfinn68]

When I went to Beijing last year, nobody looked in my luggage. After waiting in line for a few minutes, it took less then 60 seconds for Chinese customs to process my wife and me.

[watcher269]

Damn - why didn't we think of that!

[Ipanema]

I love this: seeing the American press cabal being detained. Keep it up China

[MikeDu]

This is soooo obviously payback for Bush's speech the day before. They're giving Bush a not-so-friendly poke in the ribs for his domestic criticism. Let's remember how Bush's administration began - the Chinese holding a P-3 Orion and its crew. Before 9-11 the confrontation with China was Bush's "big crisis" and a lot of mutual sabers were rattled at the time.

[GeoLee]

The major irony has nothing to do with the press corps. It was that Bush would say to the Chinese that he "truly believes that countries who priactice democracy are the most prosperous. " Saying that about and to the country to whom WE owe billioins of dollars that non democratic country loaned us is the height of irony and arrogance. But then, again, based on Bush's autocratic style, maybe he was pointing to China and indicating they were more democratic? We certainly know which seems to be the most prosperous these days.

[hoopesaz]

I would suggest that having personal freedom has more to do with prosperity than your bank account. Most would agree that the Chinese are not as prosperous as Americans are.

[Soothsayer08]

Well, W isn't known for his intellect.