A Fenced-Off Park Becomes a Pressure Cooker
Crowds packed behind barricades along Lafayette Park on Thursday as demonstrators calling for religious freedom in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and independence for Taiwan, gathered within earshot of the White House. Their chants reportedly carried across the park to the North Portico, where an honor guard and red carpet stood ready for that evening's state dinner. A separate contingent of Chinese-government supporters positioned nearby created friction almost immediately, according to 7News DC's on-the-ground coverage of the standoff.
