Before and After Tienamen Square: The State of Liberty and Freedom in Communist China
Thursday, June 4, 2008 marked the 19th Anniversary of the Protest of Liberty and Democracy at Tienanmen Square in China. On that day in 1989, individuals who believed in liberty and freedom in the face of the Communist dictatorship stood up and captured the attention of the world (as illustrated through the picture of the man standing in the way of the column of tanks as they came lumbering down the street). Since that day, there are still 130 individuals who are wasting away in a Communist prison cell in China simply because they stood up for the inalienable rights to Life and Liberty which God, the Creator of the Universe, wrote upon them.
In 2002, a man by the name of Brother Yun, a leader in the House Church movement in China in the 1970's and beyond, published his story, The Heavenly Man. In the book, he describes the great lengths to which the Communist Government in China went to silence him and other Christians in a desire to crush the spread of Christianity across China within the last twenty-five years of the 20th Century. Many people were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and killed in trying to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ across China; in the spreading of the Gospel, religious freedom was strengthened despite a vast and evil government which tried to snuff out it's flame. Many in the West would stand ashamed, as we do not know what real suffering, difficulty, and persecution are. This is a hard book to read and digest.
Today, in 2008, many would make the case that China has changed and continues to - for the better. In various provinces and locals it is stated that the Communist government allows for local democratic elections, and sometimes the hand-picked puppet candidate of the Communist Party actually loses. Religious freedom is said to be greater today because the government looks away when individuals meet for worship, because they are good citizens. Considering this: as long as someone is not "disturbing the social order" by spreading their beliefs to others (i.e. Evangelism) the government is hands off. However, isn't this the call of the Christian, to help bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? What about the Church serving as the conscience of the State, as Martin Luther did at the start of the Reformation, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church did in Germany during the Third Reich? (Remember, Bonhoffer was executed for his beliefs which put him in oppostion to the Nazi government in Germany.) If this were to happen in China then surely the government would take harsh action.
What about Beijing 2008? In two months China will strut before the world stage as the host of the Summer Olympics. The Communist rulers there have forced the athletes competing in the Olympics to sign an agreement stating they will not speak out against the government and its human rights abuses. Even acclaimed director Stephen Spielberg stepped down in February as a technical advisor to the events this summer because of China's involvement in the conflict in Sudan.
So the question becomes: Are things better than they were in 1989? Yes and No: Yes, Communist China is experiencing an economic boom which has now caused great concern for the United States (and rightly so), but any advancement in the areas of religious and democratic freedom appear as but a mask, and if a true turn about occurs it will not be expedient. Therefore, in the intervening time many will continue to experience suffering and oppression for what they believe, be it religious faith or a desire for democratic freedom.
Communist China is still the dragon, even if the world deems it not.
In 2002, a man by the name of Brother Yun, a leader in the House Church movement in China in the 1970's and beyond, published his story, The Heavenly Man. In the book, he describes the great lengths to which the Communist Government in China went to silence him and other Christians in a desire to crush the spread of Christianity across China within the last twenty-five years of the 20th Century. Many people were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and killed in trying to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ across China; in the spreading of the Gospel, religious freedom was strengthened despite a vast and evil government which tried to snuff out it's flame. Many in the West would stand ashamed, as we do not know what real suffering, difficulty, and persecution are. This is a hard book to read and digest.
Today, in 2008, many would make the case that China has changed and continues to - for the better. In various provinces and locals it is stated that the Communist government allows for local democratic elections, and sometimes the hand-picked puppet candidate of the Communist Party actually loses. Religious freedom is said to be greater today because the government looks away when individuals meet for worship, because they are good citizens. Considering this: as long as someone is not "disturbing the social order" by spreading their beliefs to others (i.e. Evangelism) the government is hands off. However, isn't this the call of the Christian, to help bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? What about the Church serving as the conscience of the State, as Martin Luther did at the start of the Reformation, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church did in Germany during the Third Reich? (Remember, Bonhoffer was executed for his beliefs which put him in oppostion to the Nazi government in Germany.) If this were to happen in China then surely the government would take harsh action.
What about Beijing 2008? In two months China will strut before the world stage as the host of the Summer Olympics. The Communist rulers there have forced the athletes competing in the Olympics to sign an agreement stating they will not speak out against the government and its human rights abuses. Even acclaimed director Stephen Spielberg stepped down in February as a technical advisor to the events this summer because of China's involvement in the conflict in Sudan.
So the question becomes: Are things better than they were in 1989? Yes and No: Yes, Communist China is experiencing an economic boom which has now caused great concern for the United States (and rightly so), but any advancement in the areas of religious and democratic freedom appear as but a mask, and if a true turn about occurs it will not be expedient. Therefore, in the intervening time many will continue to experience suffering and oppression for what they believe, be it religious faith or a desire for democratic freedom.
Communist China is still the dragon, even if the world deems it not.
posted by A. R. Welty at 12:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home