No Gold Medal for China on Human Rights Issues

It’s easy to get caught up in all the drama and pageantry of the Games of the XXIX Olypmiad taking place in China this month. But we shouldn’t overlook the fact that, despite putting on a good show for all the world to see, beneath that veneer of prosperity is a regime committed to the suppression of human rights and religious freedom. President Bush made what was perhaps his strongest critique of China just hours before arriving there for the Opening Ceremony in Beijing. Here's an excerpt:

“America stands in firm opposition to China’s detention of political dissidents and human rights advocates and religious activists. We press for openness and justice — not to impose our beliefs but to allow the Chinese people to express theirs… The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings.”

According to a study by the watchdog group Human Rights Watch, China has engaged in a systematic attack on individual freedoms in preparation for the Olympics including intimidation and imprisonment of those who protested forced evictions and demolitions to allow for Olympics-related infrastructure construction. They also engaged in the harassment and restriction of foreign media who reported these and other human rights violations. According to HRW, these and other offenses committed by the Chinese government "reflect both the Chinese government’s wholesale failure to honor its Olympics-related human rights promises, as well as the negligence of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in ensuring that China fulfills its commitments."

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has China listed on its Countries of Particular Concern list for what it characterizes as "ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom."

In a report released in June 2008 by U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide and U.S.-based China Aid Association entitled “China: Persecution of Protestant Christians in the Approach to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games,” it was revealed that the Chinese government is using many different tactics to restrict the religious freedom of Christians including additional funding to the Ministry of Public Security to escalate its campaign of eradicating house churches in China. There were also reports that Christians were being arrested and fined for trying to help victims of the recent massive earthquake in Sichuan Province that killed over 200,000 people.

As we're enjoying the fun and competition of the Olympics, let's also remember that the Chinese people are paying a heavy price -- the price of their freedom -- to host these games. We should pray for strength and courage for those Chinese Christians who have to live and worship under such conditions.

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