Oh My, There Goes Another Shoe at the Cambridge University!

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The show throwing is in the news again! The first time it was on December 14 in Iraq against US President George W. Bush. This time it was in the venerable educational institution, Cambridge University of Britain. When Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was speaking on February 2 on global economy, a protester, sitting at the back of the crowded auditorium, stood up and shouted: "How can this university prostitute itself with this dictator here? How can you listen to the lies he's telling without saying anything?" Then he threw a shoe at the Premier but it dropped a few feet away from him. The university security guards restrained the protester, who later was taken away to a local police station for questioning, reported the Associate Press.

The Chinese government expressed its dissatisfaction to the British government. Britain expressed its regret and assured the Chinese that the show thrower would be dealt with according to the law. The Chinese media, mostly controlled by the government, played down the shoeing incident.

Shoe throwing may not be a big news in the West, it is an important news in the third world countries, especially Asia, because in their cultural contexts pointing a shoe to someone, beating someone with a shoe, or throwing a shoe at someone is an extreme form of insult.