Was Chinese president Hu Jintao set up for face loss in his visit to the United States this week? The EastSouthWestNorth blogger posts photos and translates an analysis which recounts Hu's stop at the White House yesterday and suggests why that might be so:

“During the speech, there was a female protestor. She was able to yell aloud for two minutes and fifteen seconds without any special agent stopping her. This was a rare occurrence. When the police came to take her away, they did not depart through the rear (where there is a passageway for the special agents). Instead, she was taken away in front of the entire assembly against White House and Secret Services regulations. These two aspects showed that the Americans may have deliberately planned this to tell the world that there is freedom of speech in America and to remind Hu Jintao about his problems inside China.”