That wasn't the best day the White House ever had. First a government announcer introduced China's national anthem by calling it the national anthem of the Republic of China. In fact, the Republic of China is the name--the formal name of the island of Taiwan, which claims to be an independent nation, a claim that China fiercely disputes.

Wang was a lone protester who happened to find a way to get close enough to Hu to make her voice heard. But as a symbol she was a living, breathing reminder in the middle of a carefully choreographed ceremony that all was not well with China, nor with the US-China relationship. And if the Chinese are as concerned with protocol as media reports suggest, the protester could end up making a real impact on the meeting between the world leaders but most likely she will just be a blip on the radar screen.