China has called a shoe-throwing incident in Britain involving Premier Wen Jiabao "despicable," but says it will not affect friendly ties between the two countries.
Mr. Wen was discussing the world economic crisis at Cambridge University Monday, when a protester blew a whistle, asked the audience how they can listen to lies, and hurled a shoe at the Chinese leader.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement Tuesday that Beijing has expressed its strong displeasure, but noted that British authorities say they will punish the person according to law.
British police charged the protester with violating public order.
Chinese state media did not mention the incident.
British police say the man will appear in a Cambridge court next week. They did not identify the suspect, other than saying he is 27 years old.
The shoe landed on the stage far from Mr. Wen, who said that despicable behavior cannot harm the British-Chinese friendship.
Mr. Wen is ending a five-nation European tour where he has been discussing the global economy and China's efforts to bring back stability.
གཟའ་ཉི་མ། ༢༠༢༤/༡༢/༢༢