8.08.08, etc.

From afar, in Bangkok, President Bush made clear his disagreement with Chinese authorities over their handling of human rights issues. He delivered a blunt criticism today of Chinese policies.

But when it comes to being a guest in China, the president is stepping gently.

Remember, now: "Eight is the luckiest number that the Chinese have in their tradition," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino advised reporters aboard Air Force One as Bush flew to Beijing from Thailand for a visit built around the opening of the Summer Olympic Games.

White House officials clearly took that tradition into account when they scheduled the dedication of the new U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

So, with the president, his father (the first President Bush and the first American to lead a U.S. liaison office in China in pre-embassy days), former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger (who arranged the first presidential visit to China, by Richard M. Nixon in 1972), and the Gatlin Brothers (to sing the National Anthem) in attendance, the embassy will be dedicated on Friday. That is, the eighth day of the eighth month, in the year '08.

And at what minute will that occur? Do we really have to tell you?

At 8:08 a.m., of course.

This would be the proper time, then, to ask: Is there in the Bush family an undiscovered tendency to live by Asian tradition? Or, is the president and staff going out of their way to pay respect to Chinese custom, after, coincidentally, drawing Beijing's rebuke for his tough human rights remarks?

--James Gerstenzang

Photo: Teh Eng Koon / AFP-Getty Images