The Olympics have been in the news this week with the dowsing of the Olympic torch in paris followed by the massive demonstrations in San Francisco earlier in the week. All of the protests revolve around the fact that China has a terrible human rights record. Protestors feel that as a result, at the very least certain nations ought not to attend the opening ceremonies, and at the most China ought to lose the Olympics.
It is true that China's human rights history is abysmal. As I listened to the radio this week and caught interviews with various protestors, I came up with this comprehensive list of the top reasons why these people are out there protesting China's human rights problems:
1) Chinese suppression of Tibet and the Tibetans aspirations for autonomy.
2) China's steadfast but unpopular support for the Sudanese government in the Darfur crisis.
3) China's repression of intellectuals within China and its censorship of Internet access.
4) It's persecution of the ethnic Hmong minority.
5) China's support for the repressive military regime in Burma.
Well, if we are talking about human rights abuses, did anybody notice a glaring omission in this list? Out of all the interviews and articles I looked at on this, not a single person mentioned China's horrendous one-child policy and their barbaric practice of forced abortion. China's own government estimates that it has aborted 250 million children since the instituion of the one child policy in 1979 (they use the phrase "prevented births"). It is unknown how many of these abortions are forced, but the stories of women being forcibly dragged to abortion clinics are many. A recent photo smuggled out of China, which showed a still-warm corpse of a dead female infant lying in a gutter in Hunan province, caused outrage around the world. Note on the below map, that in China's most populated areas, almost 50% of all pregnancies end in abortion.
However, none of the protesters have made an issue out of this most obvious and fundamental of all human rights abuses. Why? I'm not sure, but I looking at the other grievances (Darfur and Tibet), I see that they are issues that liberals tend to take up, and liberals certainly are not going to get out in the street about Chinese abortion. It is classic liberal mentality to get outraged about the oppressed Hmong of China but not care about the oppressed Christians of Turkey. They can enthusiastically wave "Free Tibet" signs but would balk and the demand to "Free Constantinople."
Unless people, of any political stripe, are willing to call China on the carpet for its barbaric abortion policies, then any other gripes about human rights abuses are farcical and hypocritical.
You missed another glaring human rights violation - the persecution of the Catholic church by the Chinese government who have "established" their own bishops and have jailed the true bishops and priests. From the CNA,
ReplyDelete"The Cardinal Kung Foundation explains Chinese policy towards religion on its website: "The Chinese government views religion as a threat to its power. As a result, it restricts religious activities to government-sanctioned organizations and registered places of worship. It also seeks to stamp out those religious activities that are not government-sanctioned."
The Foundation labels as false the Chinese government's promise of freedom of religion, saying "China continues to commit serious violations of religious freedom and belief. The Chinese government severely and systematically persecutes members of China's spiritual communities, including Roman Catholics, Protestants, Evangelical Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, and members of the Falun Gong movement."
The Cardinal Kung Foundation also protests that Olympic prestige is diminished by the Chinese government's injustices, writing that "the noble name of "Olympic" is being severely tarnished by its association with the evil spirit of religious persecutions and human rights violations in China. This is about the time for the Olympic Committee to consider canceling the games in China in order to preserve their good name and spirit."
Currently in China five Catholic bishops and fifteen priests are in prison for opposing the state-sponsored Chinese Patriotic Catholic Church.
Amen, Amen!
ReplyDeleteIt is well know that any oppressive leadership will destroy and ban all religion. The key to a dictatorial, or in this case communist, rule is to remove all hope from the people. If people have hope, they see the possiblity of freedom and what does religion, especially our Catholic religion provide? Hope. Hope in a new life after this place. A hope for freedom. A hope in an eternal Kingdom without pain, suffering and death. When people have hope and a knowledge of something better they tend to strive toward that. To maintain full and unhindered control of a people and to hide the lies and deception of those in power they must remove any and all religion, especially the one with the Truth. You can see this in many areas in life. Just look around and you will see it at all levels, from homes to governments and that includes within religious denominations and churches. The Truth is altered, suppressed, changed, and on and on until it serves the purpose of those in power. Whether it be that spouse who wants control, that minister or priest that has a personal agenda, or that ruler who desires all power and riches.
ReplyDeleteIf we follow our True Traditional Faith as we should, we will find an attempt at suppression, distortion of our Truth, attempts to coerce and manipulate, and on and on by those who do not want the REAL Truth. Communism or anything else that you call it is the work of Satan. The
Chinese, because of their size, strength, and power are visible to us. But there are many more places that are far worse. In my travels around the world to places only those who's job it is to be there have ever seen, I have witnessed much. What the Chinese Government is doing will spread like wildfire soon. It will spread across the world because we, as Catholics, save a few, have forgotten all of the Traditions, rejected the True devotion, and have be misguided and led astray voluntarily by those who desire power and a lifestyle free from guilt. Sin has been weakened to a state of psychological excuses while in God's eyes it still is as it always was. Catholics have no true unity and have forgotten how to pray. Especially when the priests leading them do not know how to pray the Rosary until parishioners force them to, then make claims that they always have. When true prayer is ignored and set aside for personal wants. When the leaders of our Church ignore the needs of the flock.
The Chinese? Those of us left in the True Tradition of the Church must pray. Pray devoutly. Pray Novenas, the Rosary, pray, pray, pray. We must carry the burden of prayer for all those, from Bishops to the laity, who will not. The Chinese have been acting with true brutality. No government in the world today can do much of anything, including the US. We are spread so thin right now militarily that China is able to walk in the front door and we won't be able to respond. They are brutal and people here have no idea what they will be up against.
Keep Hope in our hearts, Faith and continue to be Charitable even to those who persecute us. They need our prayers the most. And pray that the Church will soon thrive in China. The true Traditions are what's needed. Since they were suppressed the world has fallen more than it ever has. Let us all pray.