John Whitehead's Commentary
China's Human Rights Abuses: Giving the Devil His Due
An old saying goes, "He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon." If so, the length of the U.S. government's spoon had better keep pace with its foreign relations policies since, in the name of fighting terrorism, our national leaders have forged alliances with countries that, for many years, have meted out terror upon their own people.
Take, for example, our alliance with China, a country infamous for persecuting its people because they dare to choose a way of life not authorized or dictated by the government. A recent incident clearly illustrates the lengths to which China will go to control and persecute its own populace. Several days before the New Year, Chinese officials sentenced two leaders of a Chinese church, Gong Shengliang and his niece, Li Ying, to death under China's new anti-cult law. And what crime did they commit to merit the punishment of death? Both are members of the South China Church, a religious practice that has not been sanctioned by the Chinese government. Yet, with some 50,000 members, it is one of the fastest growing religious movements in China.
China bans religious practices outside the government-authorized churches, temples and mosques of the five religions it recognizes: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Roman Catholicism and Protestant Christianity. However, the Chinese government frequently arrests religious leaders who defy the ban, including Catholic priests who profess loyalty to the Pope.
And shortly after the New Year began, a Hong Kong businessman who tried to deliver Bibles purchased by American Christians to Chinese Christian congregations was indicted under the anti-cult law. Thus, obviously fearful of what may indeed be a legitimate spiritual awakening, the Chinese regime is acting to snuff it out.
But these acts of tyranny and intolerance are nothing new to the Chinese government, which has had a long history of persecuting religion. Since the 1950s, for example, the Chinese government has consistently persecuted Tibetans. Human Rights Watch details numerous instances of human rights abuses, including some 600 political prisoners in Tibet, most of them monks and nuns.
Indeed, the persecution of religion has been so systematic that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's 2001 annual report noted that religious freedom in China has "sharply deteriorated." Among the Commission's details of the Chinese government's intensified crackdown on religious communities were: the destruction or government confiscation of as many as 3,000 churches, temples and shrines in China; increased government control over official Protestant and Catholic churches; the extension of restrictions on Tibetan Buddhists' religious practices to apply to ordinary citizens in private homes; "oppressive, often brutal measures" targeting Muslims; a rise in the reported number of cases of torture by government officials; and instances of foreigners being detained and/or sentenced for religious activities in China.
As a result of these atrocities, the Commission on Human Rights recommended that the American government "persistently urge" the Chinese government to take steps to protect religious freedom. It also suggested that the American government use its influence with other governments to ensure that Beijing not be selected as the site of the International Olympic Games.
Unfortunately, its recommendations went unheeded to such an extent that the United States granted China Most Favored Nation trading status. And in July 2001, to the disbelief and outrage of humanitarians worldwide, the Olympic Committee named Beijing host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Now, as we toil on in our efforts to end terrorism in one part of the world while it flourishes elsewhere, many of our politicians and diplomats hesitate to rock the boat and unsettle U.S.-China relations.
But there is another saying that is appropriate here: "Tell the truth and shame the devil." There is nothing that tyrants fear more than those who speak the truth. This was clearly illustrated by Chinese authorities when they massacred students who were peacefully demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square in 1989. That crackdown on free speech by the Chinese military resulted in hundreds dead and many more imprisoned.
Moreover, reports from such organizations as Amnesty International that human rights conditions inside China are worsening have the Chinese on edge. This is one reason that China is so sensitive about its image and standing in the international community. It is also why China has vigorously resisted any debate on its atrocious human rights record at the annual meetings of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
It is clear that the concept of human rights is non-existent in China. This is perfectly illustrated in China's one-child policy. Carried out through the use of fines, pressure to abort pregnancies, forced abortions and forced sterilization for second and subsequent pregnancies, the policy is intended to limit the country's population growth to one child per family. Not surprisingly, China has one of the highest rates of abortion in the world.
Yet, in what almost seems the height of hypocrisy, President Bush has commended China for being one of our allies in the war against terrorism. For the sake of those who have been victims of China's inhumane practices, isn't it time to stop dealing with China as if they're some kind of egalitarian democracy? They clearly are not.
And with the ever-expanding list of human rights abuses by the Chinese government, it is time that the United States reconsider whether it should be dealing with the Chinese at all--at least until they begin a serious reversal of their human rights violations.
As a country that upholds the ideas of freedom and human dignity, there are several things we can and should do. First, the numerous American companies that are conducting business in China should protest such human rights violations and, if need be, remove their businesses from the Chinese mainland. Second, our President should personally lead the U.S. government in the initiation of resolutions to censure China before the United Nations. Third, American diplomats should consistently raise human rights abuses with Chinese officials and urge them to change their policies. And last, but not least, the media--television, print, radio and so on--should routinely report the numerous human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government.
The American people have a right to know what our so-called "allies" are doing. Indeed, if we are going to sup with the devil, then we at least need to know what is on our plates.
Take, for example, our alliance with China, a country infamous for persecuting its people because they dare to choose a way of life not authorized or dictated by the government. A recent incident clearly illustrates the lengths to which China will go to control and persecute its own populace. Several days before the New Year, Chinese officials sentenced two leaders of a Chinese church, Gong Shengliang and his niece, Li Ying, to death under China's new anti-cult law. And what crime did they commit to merit the punishment of death? Both are members of the South China Church, a religious practice that has not been sanctioned by the Chinese government. Yet, with some 50,000 members, it is one of the fastest growing religious movements in China.
China bans religious practices outside the government-authorized churches, temples and mosques of the five religions it recognizes: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Roman Catholicism and Protestant Christianity. However, the Chinese government frequently arrests religious leaders who defy the ban, including Catholic priests who profess loyalty to the Pope.
And shortly after the New Year began, a Hong Kong businessman who tried to deliver Bibles purchased by American Christians to Chinese Christian congregations was indicted under the anti-cult law. Thus, obviously fearful of what may indeed be a legitimate spiritual awakening, the Chinese regime is acting to snuff it out.
But these acts of tyranny and intolerance are nothing new to the Chinese government, which has had a long history of persecuting religion. Since the 1950s, for example, the Chinese government has consistently persecuted Tibetans. Human Rights Watch details numerous instances of human rights abuses, including some 600 political prisoners in Tibet, most of them monks and nuns.
Indeed, the persecution of religion has been so systematic that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's 2001 annual report noted that religious freedom in China has "sharply deteriorated." Among the Commission's details of the Chinese government's intensified crackdown on religious communities were: the destruction or government confiscation of as many as 3,000 churches, temples and shrines in China; increased government control over official Protestant and Catholic churches; the extension of restrictions on Tibetan Buddhists' religious practices to apply to ordinary citizens in private homes; "oppressive, often brutal measures" targeting Muslims; a rise in the reported number of cases of torture by government officials; and instances of foreigners being detained and/or sentenced for religious activities in China.
As a result of these atrocities, the Commission on Human Rights recommended that the American government "persistently urge" the Chinese government to take steps to protect religious freedom. It also suggested that the American government use its influence with other governments to ensure that Beijing not be selected as the site of the International Olympic Games.
Unfortunately, its recommendations went unheeded to such an extent that the United States granted China Most Favored Nation trading status. And in July 2001, to the disbelief and outrage of humanitarians worldwide, the Olympic Committee named Beijing host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Now, as we toil on in our efforts to end terrorism in one part of the world while it flourishes elsewhere, many of our politicians and diplomats hesitate to rock the boat and unsettle U.S.-China relations.
But there is another saying that is appropriate here: "Tell the truth and shame the devil." There is nothing that tyrants fear more than those who speak the truth. This was clearly illustrated by Chinese authorities when they massacred students who were peacefully demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square in 1989. That crackdown on free speech by the Chinese military resulted in hundreds dead and many more imprisoned.
Moreover, reports from such organizations as Amnesty International that human rights conditions inside China are worsening have the Chinese on edge. This is one reason that China is so sensitive about its image and standing in the international community. It is also why China has vigorously resisted any debate on its atrocious human rights record at the annual meetings of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
It is clear that the concept of human rights is non-existent in China. This is perfectly illustrated in China's one-child policy. Carried out through the use of fines, pressure to abort pregnancies, forced abortions and forced sterilization for second and subsequent pregnancies, the policy is intended to limit the country's population growth to one child per family. Not surprisingly, China has one of the highest rates of abortion in the world.
Yet, in what almost seems the height of hypocrisy, President Bush has commended China for being one of our allies in the war against terrorism. For the sake of those who have been victims of China's inhumane practices, isn't it time to stop dealing with China as if they're some kind of egalitarian democracy? They clearly are not.
And with the ever-expanding list of human rights abuses by the Chinese government, it is time that the United States reconsider whether it should be dealing with the Chinese at all--at least until they begin a serious reversal of their human rights violations.
As a country that upholds the ideas of freedom and human dignity, there are several things we can and should do. First, the numerous American companies that are conducting business in China should protest such human rights violations and, if need be, remove their businesses from the Chinese mainland. Second, our President should personally lead the U.S. government in the initiation of resolutions to censure China before the United Nations. Third, American diplomats should consistently raise human rights abuses with Chinese officials and urge them to change their policies. And last, but not least, the media--television, print, radio and so on--should routinely report the numerous human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government.
The American people have a right to know what our so-called "allies" are doing. Indeed, if we are going to sup with the devil, then we at least need to know what is on our plates.
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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