Chinese Christians and other religious minorities are increasingly targeted by their communist government for oppression. While not enough of us are paying attention, it seems China is rapidly devolving into a police state to rival North Korea. Last week The Stream spoke with Bob Fu, a Chinese dissident who founded China Aid and who advocates for religious freedom and the rule of law in China ~ China Demolishes Crosses, Mandates Surveillance in Churches as Religious Persecution Rises. According to Fu ~
President Xi Jinping considers Christians one of the greatest threats to his power. Underground churches are listed as one of the “new black five” national security threats in China. It’s new under this president for churches to be classified as a national security threat […]
On February 1 of this year, a new law called “Regulations on the Administration of Religious Affairs” took effect. Things have become dramatically even worse. Bible-burning campaigns are happening across China. Now his successor Governor, who ran this campaign, has been promoted to Secretary General of the state consul in Beijing […]
The government-sanctioned churches that are allowed to exist right now have unique restrictions. Each church has to install a facial-recognition camera in front of the pulpit (?!). The purpose is to identify certain people in the congregation.
This state-sanctioned version of religion is what I was writing about last month ~ Pope Francis throws Chinese Catholics under the bus. Rather than confront this growing totalitarian oppression, the pope seems inclined to enable it. So naturally, it’s only escalating.
And Christians aren’t the only targets. Fu discussed China’s horrifying treatment of the Uyghurs, a separate ethnic – predominately Muslim – minority ~
Every three blocks, Chinese police are stationed to look for so-called dissidents. They will stop you and examine your smartphone. If they find anything in the Uyghur language or a Uyghur song, you are immediately sent to a labor camp. Today, there are currently one to three million Uyghurs in concentration camps. They are being tortured. We have interviewed many witnesses whose family members are in prison or were killed.
“Millions of [Uyghurs] are imprisoned. They are facing imminent gas chambers. It’s a serious deal. If we allow China to take them, then next will be our group.”
This is all well-documented. The Chinese government regime has designed special headphones for the Uyghurs to wear. They have to have them on seven days a week, 24 hours a day. It broadcasts the Communist Party songs to brainwash them. After three days of hearing this nonstop, how could you bear that? Many have gone crazy.
They force these Muslims to sell and eat pork. I am not fabricating anything. The Uyghurs are currently facing genocide. The Tibetans already experienced this to a degree. Where is the United Nations? The world is not paying attention as they should.
If China gets away with ethnic cleansing of these people, while the world looks away, are Christians next?
Four years ago, faith in China was growing at such a rapid pace that the country was on track to have the largest Christian population in the world by the year 2020. It seems the communist government is determined to prevent that from happening at all costs.
How can we help? Bob Fu has three suggestions ~
2. Build a coalition. Churches could allow persecuted Uyghurs to share their testimony and show solidarity with them. There are millions of them imprisoned. They are the modern version of Jews in the concentration camps. They are facing imminent gas chambers. It’s a serious deal. If we allow China to take them, then next will be our group.
3. Work hard to urge elected officials to act. From the Trump administration to members of Congress, they need to make religious freedom a priority. They need to put perpetrators on the sanctions list. There is a law under which they can do that, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
According to this law, you can sanction persecutors by revoking their visas to the United States and other Western countries and freeze their wealth. Most of them are corrupt officials. They have wealth buried in U.S. banks. They should pay a price and know that this activity is not welcome.
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Related:
• Chinese ‘underground’ bishop detained by police for fifth time in two years ~
• China: Cultivate ‘patriotic’ clergy, Henan officials told
• China introduces three-person teams to monitor religious groups
• Pope Francis throws Chinese Catholics under the bus
• China: 6 churches closed, crosses removed from 3 others
• China’s Internet guidelines a ‘serious violation of people’s freedoms’
• The Persecution of the Uyghurs
