Trump welcomes Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States, with both protests and welcome from both inside and outside the White House

U.S. President Trump personally went to the airport to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping, took him to visit the newly built helicopter pad, and held a candlelight dinner in the evening. However, outside the White House, protests against Xi Jinping's policies have barely stopped today.

The Associated Press reported that the demonstrators' demands were diverse, ranging from demanding religious autonomy and greater freedom in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang, to advocating preventing China from interfering in Taiwan affairs.

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Protests against visiting Chinese leaders are nothing new. In 2006, when then-Chinese President Hu Jintao attended a welcoming ceremony at the White House, a woman protested in person.

However, Xi Jinping has become the main target of this protest due to his tough policies to tighten control over Xinjiang, Hong Kong and other places, as well as the increasing threat from the Chinese military to Taiwan.

A large number of demonstrators gathered behind the fence along Lafayette Park, waving flags and holding signs. Loudspeakers carried their voices throughout the park and all the way to the North Portico of the White House, where an honor guard for the State Dinner was already on hand to greet guests.

The demonstrators shouted: "Xi Jinping must step down!" and "Shame on you! Shame on Xi Jinping!" As the welcome ceremony progressed, the protests grew louder.

However, pro-China demonstrators also appeared in Washington at the same time. About 200 Xi Jinping supporters gathered outside his hotel, waving Chinese and American flags, shouting "Welcome, welcome, warm welcome" and holding slogans such as "Warmly welcome President Xi to visit the United States" and "Hello, Uncle Xi."

At the same time, anti-Xi demonstrators gathered outside the Chinese Embassy in the United States in the morning and then marched through the city. By late afternoon, hundreds of people gathered in a park near the White House to stage a so-called "unwelcome" protest against Xi Jinping.

Many waved Tibetan flags and shouted "Tibetan freedom," while others held flags with Chinese characters for "freedom" and "democracy" and carried slogans such as "Keep Taiwan free" and "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times."

17-year-old Anjali Tenzin Sonn participated in a predominantly Tibetan protest outside the U.S. Capitol demanding freedom for Tibet. She said she felt the need to participate in the protests since she was a child, listening to her mother's experience of fleeing Tibet on foot and her grandfather's political detention. She called the demonstration "encouraging."

"I hope Emperor Xi will not stay in power forever," said Zhang Na, a 31-year-old warehouse worker in Los Angeles. "I hope he can give the Chinese people real freedom, including freedom of speech and freedom of religion."

Zhang Na said she was tired of China's long-term COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) lockdown measures. She flew to Ecuador three years ago and then entered the United States on foot via the southern border.

Yang Fan, a 39-year-old Christian, participated in the protest with his wife and daughter, holding handwritten signs demanding "religious freedom" and "an end to dictatorship." He hoped to speak out for Christians in China and hoped that Xi Jinping would release those imprisoned for their religious beliefs.

Melody Calkins, 30, spent most of her childhood in Hong Kong. "I hope to see Hong Kong liberated and Hong Kong's original freedoms fully restored," she said.