I see. Silly me, it must be my neocon fascism that makes me see a Chinese pianist playing a pro-Communist, anti-American propaganda song at the White House as an insult. But apparently it isn’t in the new age of Obama.

I like this:

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor told ABC News that “any suggestion that this was an insult to the United States is just flat wrong. As Lang Lang has stated before, he plays this song regularly because it is one of his favorite Chinese melodies, which is very widely known and popular in China for its melody. Lang Lang played the song without lyrics or reference to any political themes during the entertainment portion of the State Dinner. He simply stated the song’s title and noted it was well known in China.”

You know why? Because it’s a popular propaganda song in China. Mao-era. It’s known for its anti-American, pro-Communist themes. In fact, the lyrics refer to Americans as brutal animals.

In fact, Chinese web users praised the selection for that exact reason. And Lang Lang, the pianist in question, originally acknowledged as much in a web posting. Here’s what he wrote:

“Playing this song praising China to heads of state from around the world seems to tell them that our China is formidable, that our Chinese people are united; I feel deeply honored and proud.”

He said something along the same lines in a television interview with Phoenix TV.

As Jim Hoft says, “Obama has been in office for only 2 years and already they’re playing Red Chinese commie songs at State Dinners in the White House.” And not considering an insult, to boot.