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

[janmarbol]

lol, did these guys ever land in jfk? 3 hours sounds great wait time to me.

[sparkandy]

Or Chicago. I've never gotten off a plane in a timely fashion there.

[NochlessMonster]

Or Detroit for that matter....

[NotWaldo]

When he was told about that event, the president simply said : "I don't have the FOGGIEST idea why they did that!"

[RichardD]

Well...that's consistent with what he walks around in all the time...

[NotWaldo]

Mental fog ?

[Nyland8]

"China Detains White House Press Plane"

Oh, the humanity! At least the air on the plane was probably filtered.

I spent more than three hours on the tarmac in Newark once ... and that was just to take off on a flight to Atlanta.

8

[sparkandy]

I spent 5 hours on the ground in Paris, because an El Al pilot drove his plane off into the grass behind the AA flight I was on. Believe me, the only way to cope with that was to drink a LOT of vodka.

[NochlessMonster]

I find that a few cocktails on the plane is always a good thing.... the only, and last time, I didn't have a drink they told us they were having problems with the flaps on the plane.... so don't be alarmed when you see all the emergency vehicles and the runway was plenty long enough.... etc etc....... needless to say it was a put your head between your knees and kiss your a$$ goodbye....... I soooo wanted a drink then.........

[Coattails]

My longest delay so far has been 17 hours to go from Minneapolis to Mexico.

We were supposed to fly out at 6:30 A.M., got delayed because of a maintenance malfunction on the plane, got free lunch and dinner vouchers, and eventually a free round trip credit after we waited till after midnight to actually board a plane.

That was getting on the plane though, this story, I guess was getting off the plane.

[Unshriven]

I just hope they used the time to comtemplate the vital role an adversarial press plays in keeping America from falling under the control of an oligarchy.
Oops, too late.

[Tator]

The Chinese were stopping them long enough to thank the MSM for their continued support of Socialism/Communism ideals....

[1differentdrummer]

That's okay, Tator, when school starts you'll perhaps have a social studies class in which to learn the difference.

[filo]

Jack Cafferty was right when he called them "goons and thugs" !

[CitizenTess]

You refer to the press?

[NochlessMonster]

Nah... to Jack Cafferty... who is perhaps the only person left worth listening to on CNN....

[ribe8g]

Poor poor u.s.a. Don't the Chinese understand the idea of american exceptionalism?

[Marmann]

Maybe they were looking to see if Bush had snuck some WMDs on board.

[editor]

Not to worry! They won't ever ask any hard questions of anybody.

[partyofone]

Too bad the Chinese didn't retain these worthless Bush enablers longer... maybe until January 20, 2009.

[carolinacal]

So what?

Let the Bush mouthpieces wait.

[POTUS2008]

There is a difference between Delayed, and Detained; this is not a story.

[NochlessMonster]

Of course it is a story........

[BARRISTER]

Why is it a Story? Americans are not subject to the Immigration and Customs Laws of other countries??

[themodernleader]

As China's economic power eclipses the mismanaged America, they are tellling our leadership in subtle and not so subtle ways that there is a new boss in town. We better understand our subservient place in the rank order of international nation-states.
In the history of organizations, those organizations that develop the competences to make and produce predictably emerge in the control of events.. Those nations that value inflated paper at the expense of their own productivity and citizen khowledge and skill, court losing control of their own destiny.
Our bankrupted status and indebtedness to China places us in the grestest peril to our national sovereignty and independence. How could leadership over a quarter century have so irresponsibly, despicably destroyed our dominant place under the sun? And when will we be afforded the truth by leadership of integrity, courage and vision for turning us back to orur original charge?

[BARRISTER]

Reagan, Bush the father, and this crimin al Bush, together with some Clinton Policies, are the Clear and present Danger that caused the Decline and Fall of the American Empire.

[4peace]

How could leadership over a quarter century have so irresponsibly, despicably destroyed our dominant place under the sun? - Through greed of individual politicians, the good old "whats in it for me" methodology.

[Weathermaker]

I guess the Chinese were wondering if these 40 people truly were journalists. As it turned out, they were just a bunch of cheerleaders.

[peacekitten]

unless helen thomas was on board, i doubt there were any reporters among the press corps on that plane.

[CocteausTwin]

DamnSkippy!

[Jamesdean]

very very true, peacekitten.

[aspadeisaspade]

Bush's diatribe in Taiwan before leaving for China was nauseating. Stating his expectations of China from a safe distance, and that change in China will occur from within. Pity that wasn't his philosophy before invading Iraq. It's a bit late to talk about "democracy from within" Bush - you're only fooling yourself. It's the Olympics, and I have to agree that they should not be politicized, least of all by that idiot making pronouncements on China's internal affairs. He should have worried about the human rights abuses and the internal problems of the nation of which he was President: Guantanamo, Katrina, initiating illegal wars, the growing divide between rich and poor, lack of health care, the ecomony, etc.