Hu Jintao heckled at White House

The Chinese President visit to Washington drew several hundred banner-waving protesters, including a heckler from the Falun Gong.

Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington on Thursday drew several hundred banner-waving protesters, including a heckler from the Falun Gong spiritual movement who gained entry to the White House grounds as a member of the press corps.

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As Hu was welcomed by President George W Bush in a White House ceremony, a Chinese woman who had been allowed into the press section began shouting slogans. She was escorted away by a uniformed US guard.

"President Hu, your days are numbered. President Bush, make him stop persecuting Falun Gong," the woman yelled. US officials later identified her as Wang Wenyi, 47, a reporter with The Epoch Times, an English-language publication strongly supportive of the meditation movement that is banned in China.

The Secret Service was interviewing the woman and a source said she would be charged with disorderly conduct.

Outside the White House, hundreds of yellow-clad Falun Gong disciples, Taiwanese nationalists, and Tibetan youth group members demonstrated against Hu and his government.