"A jubilant China sends three astronauts on nation's first spacewalk" by Maureen Fan, Washington Post | September 26, 2008
BEIJING - China carried out a textbook-perfect launch last night with the liftoff of three astronauts into space for the country's third manned spaceflight and first spacewalk.
Underscoring the political implications of the mission, a beaming President Hu Jintao congratulated the astronauts on live television. He called the voyage "another milestone in the Chinese people's march toward aerospace science."
The mission was a sign of China's growing strategic power and an indication of the importance it gives to space exploration for commercial and military purposes. While NASA officials complain that diminishing budgets threaten US dominance in space, China has joined Europe, India, and other nations in announcing ambitious new developments in aerospace.
"After the Olympics, it's the most exciting thing that enhances our national pride and dignity this year," said He Haihong, 25, a sales manager at an electronics company who founded a website for Chinese aerospace fans. "Not only is the rocket launched but also our hopes for a better life."
Astronaut Zhai Zhigang is scheduled to attempt the spacewalk over the weekend, according to the state-run New China News Agency and CCTV. The smooth takeoff allowed the country to focus on something other than the food scandals and economic troubles that have dominated news recently.
The racist, Zionist-controlled, agenda-pushing, war-promoting, AmeriKan MSM just couldn't let an article go by without bashing the Chinese, huh?
Hey, shit MSM, how about TURNING that lense on the BUSH ADMINISTRATION for a change?
--more--"