China The Furious Flap over Fang Lizhi

Fang Lizhi was not exactly a household name outside China until he was invited to dine with President George Bush. Then a series of missteps turned a social occasion into a diplomatic cause celebre. Using crude police muscle, the Chinese government physically barred Fang, China's most famous dissident, from attending the Texas barbecue that Bush gave at the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel to salute Chinese dignitaries at the end of an otherwise friendly visit to Beijing. The invitation infuriated the Chinese government, Fang's manhandling offended the U.S., and the Bush Administration was left with egg foo yung on its face.

The...