Protests and welcoming activities broke out in Washington on the occasion of Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) People gathered behind fences along Lafayette Park, waving flags and holding placards. Loudspeakers carried their shouts to every corner of the park, including the adjoining North Portico, where an honor guard and red carpet were ready for guests arriving for the state dinner.

When the welcoming ceremony at the White House began, protesters here chanted slogans such as "Xi Jinping steps down" and "Shame on Xi Jinping!" over and over again.

Protesters also gathered outside the Chinese Embassy in the United States on Thursday morning, and later marched to the vicinity of Capitol Hill. There, many people waved Tibetan flags and chanted slogans of "Freedom for Tibet", while others held placards with words such as "Freedom" and "Democracy," "Keep Taiwan Free," and "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times." Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attended an event organized by Free Tibet and spoke, saying it was important for the voices of protesters to be heard by elected officials, the President of the United States and the President of China.

On Thursday, there were also activities supporting the Chinese Communist Party in Washington. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hotel where Xi Jinping was staying, waving the national flags of China and the United States and shouting "Welcome, welcome, warm welcome." The banner they held read "Warmly welcome President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States."

Protests against visits by Chinese Communist Party leaders are not uncommon in the West. In fact, they are almost always accompanied by such activities. People still remember that when Hu Jintao, then Chinese President, gave a speech of thanks at the White House in 2006, a female reporter holding an Epoch Times press card suddenly shouted: "President Bush, please stop this person." "President Hu, your time is limited." She also shouted Falun Gong slogans. The woman was then taken away by security guards. President Bush immediately apologized to Hu Jintao. It is said that Chinese TV stations deleted this segment of the broadcast and replaced it with a "black screen".