Diplomatic Demarche Called For: At U.S.-China Summit, Pianist Plays Obama Like A Fiddle

Last week, Barack Obama met with the dictator of Communist China. Let's call that Mistake #1.

In fact, Obama greeted the arriving dictator with a 21 gun salute. Let's call that Mistake #2.

Then, he hosted a state dinner in the White House in honor of the Communist dictator. Let's call that Mistake #3.

Next, Obama got egg on his face and America got insulted by a prank or practical joke -- a poke in the eye; an occasion of backstabbing -- played by the Chinese guests. This Mistake #4 came to light in the aftermath of the state dinner.

Famous Chinese pianist Lang Lang performed at the dinner, and played an anti-American song that is famous, in China, from the best-known Communist propaganda movie about the Korean War -- when the Chinese army fought the Americans.

The movie is called "Battle on Shangganling Mountain," an actual battle known to Americans as The Battle of Triangle Hill. In 1952 Americans tried -- and failed -- to take control of Triangle Hill and surrounding terrain. After killing 365 Americans and wounding 1,174, ultimately the Chinese kept the hill (or as they call it, Shangganling Mountain). Link: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0LIY/is_1_90/ai_91914493/

We can see why the propaganda department of the CCP (the Communist Party) would select this battle for a movie. Victory was theirs, and the story can glorify their side (and perhaps glorify the act of killing Americans?).

Not only can the story glorify the CCP, but the movie's theme song can appear in an Obama-hosted state dinner -- and last week, it just did.

The song is called "My Motherland," the name which superceded its original title, "Big River." The song and the movie are obscure in America, but huge in China. At first, not knowing Chinese culture, Americans won't understand how big of a snub, embarrassment, and public humiliation this is.

A new coalition in the Chinese democracy movement is urging that Americans pass along, explain, or re-write this story -- and urging that the Obama administration require an apology from the Chinese side over this matter. Otherwise, there will be Mistake #5, showing weakness to the CCP.

Yang Jingduan, a former Chinese military doctor now living in Philadelphia, said "In the eyes of all Chinese, this will not be seen as anything other than a big insult to the U.S. It's like insulting you in your face and you don't know it, it's humiliating."

The Chinese blogosphere lit up with bloggers saying, "OMG" about hearing this song in that context. In one example comment, "It's deeply meaningful to play this in the United States, but I don't know if the Americans can understand? Ha ha."

In fact, the Chinese blogosphere has divided into moderates and ultra nationalists. Moderates see the song choice as an over-the-top insult to the U.S. / hosts. Nationalists are stoked to see this dig at the U.S., celebrating China's victory over the Americans.

U.S. commentators have become irate about this. At National Review, Jay Nordlinger wrote, "Obama created the opportunity for a great CCP propaganda victory. The dictatorship is delighted, and the prisoners, dissidents, and democrats feel something else. Nice going, Obama. Real nice. Is it 2012 yet?"

ABC News' Jake Tapper quoted an AEI researcher, Nick Eberstadt, as saying the song is “classic Mao-era anti-American invective and it’s astonishing that none of the China experts on the American side called it out before it was put into the program for the banquet.”

At the White House, the song was played without lyrics, but the Chinese well know the lyrics near the end, which say: "When friends are here, there is fine wine / But if the jackal comes / What greets it is the hunting rifle." Here in these lyrics, "the jackal" refers to the United States.

Below are two videos, one with the song in the movie, and one with the song in the White House:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LQyyh1zc44

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb7sOpYmbMA