Call it COVID-19. Or novel Or the now-politically incorrect term 鈥淐hinese flu.鈥� But thanks to the virus鈥檚 unrivaled global threat, all eyes are now fixed on China and its Communist administration. The world is watching how President Xi Jinping behaves, what he seeks, and what is hidden behind his regime鈥檚 fiercely protected public face.
In light of this scrutiny, it wasn鈥檛 helpful to Xi鈥檚 efforts at damage control when the US Commission on International Religious Freedom declared in an update on March 13 that China was using its persecuted Uighur Muslims as virtual slave laborers.
鈥淭he Chinese government has compounded its mistreatment of Uighur and other Muslims by forcing them to work in factories鈥�. We urge all American companies, including Amazon, Nike, Apple and Calvin Klein, to conduct a thorough investigation of their supply chains in China and cease any operations if they cannot definitively rule out the use of forced labor.鈥�
At about the same time, a packed briefing took place in Washington, DC, exposing the Chinese government鈥檚 lockdown of millions of Uighurs in Experts presented meticulously documented evidence of 鈥渙rgan harvesting鈥� 鈥� providing Uighur organs on demand for transplanted hearts, kidneys, livers and even matched sets of lungs.
The Chinese Communist Party has been able to collectively mistreat Uighur Muslims with ease because many of them live in one region 鈥� the Xinjiang autonomous territory. And thanks to satellite images, the concentration camps constructed to house millions of Uighurs are visible from space.
Not so visible or well documented are the regime鈥檚 abuses of other religious groups.
Tibetan Buddhists have long endured harsh treatment. Their devotion to the Dalai Lama is perceived as disloyalty to the People鈥檚 Republic of China, verging on treason. In response, since 2009, 156 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest of China鈥檚 abuses.
Chinese who practice Falun Gong spiritual exercises are subject to arrest, imprisonment and, according to numerous reports, summary execution 鈥� also for purposes of organ harvesting.
Even a community of less than 1,000 Jews in Kaifeng has been victimized by party authorities, who in 2018 stormed through a study center鈥檚 gates, tore loose and trashed a metal Star of David, and ripped Hebrew scriptural quotations off the walls. The authorities also put a stop to any foreign funding for the group.
But perhaps no religious group is perceived as a more dangerous threat to the regime than China鈥檚 enormous Christian population. It is widely reported that there are more Christians in China than Communist Party members 鈥� a reality that does not sit well with the party.
And persecution of Christians is nothing new. They have been relentlessly oppressed since Mao Zedong鈥檚 Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949.
My first introduction to China鈥檚 鈥渟uffering church鈥� took place in the mid1980s when I coauthored a book about Pastor Wang Ming Dao, who was locked up in Chinese prisons from 1955 till 1980 for refusing to deny his faith. The stories of his torture, solitary confinement and abuse were crushing. Wang is cherished today as the founding father of China鈥檚 underground church. The title of the book was, appropriately, Walking the Hard Road.
AFTER PRESIDENT Richard Nixon鈥檚 ice-breaking visit to China in 1972, and thanks to subsequently surging commerce, tourism and Chinese public relations efforts, the world鈥檚 attention shifted away from China鈥檚 morally bankrupt political policies. Complaints about appalling cruelties were replaced by smiling faces on travel posters.
And across the decades, behind the flimsy facade of tourism and trade, China鈥檚 religious persecution continued. Then, in 2018, Xi鈥檚 crackdown on all religious believers launched harsher measures than any since Mao鈥檚 reign of terror, endangering all who refuse to bow the knee to him and his proclamations.
Today, thanks to an unwelcome and deadly intruder 鈥� COVID-19 鈥� the Communist Party鈥檚 facade may actually be crumbling. A sickened world is taking a second look at China鈥檚 extreme despotism, typified by its policies on religious freedom.
In October 2017, Xi introduced a revolutionary 鈥淣ew Era鈥� for China鈥檚 militantly atheistic regime. That was soon followed by an intense crackdown on China鈥檚 people of faith, including thousands of shuttered churches. However, Xi鈥檚 crackdown wasn鈥檛 solely about controlling religious thought.
In reality, China鈥檚 people of faith are merely the proverbial canaries in Xi鈥檚 vast, dark coal mine.
Any voice, any belief, any declaration that challenges the party鈥檚 doctrine or questions Xi鈥檚 demands will most certainly be investigated, mocked, contradicted and eventually silenced. The courageous young pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong know this all too well.
And consider the case of Dr. Li Wenliang, the brave whistleblower who warned the world about the dangerous new virus which eventually took his life. He was reprimanded, censured and otherwise disgraced. But his predictions were absolutely correct, and the regime was further discredited.
Perhaps one of the very few good effects that may emerge from today鈥檚 pandemic is the overdue exposure of China鈥檚 many injustices. Because of its shameful months-long virus cover-up, the lives of thousands, perhaps millions, may well be lost. And for the first time 鈥� perhaps ever 鈥� the siren song of China鈥檚 cheap labor, commercial prospects and financial boons may finally be overshadowed by the exposed malevolence of its leadership.
As for China鈥檚 people of faith 鈥� and particularly its long-suffering Christians 鈥� is the world finally watching? Those of us who admire them from afar recognize that the journey they鈥檝e chosen for themselves follows the same path Pastor Wang Ming Dao took some 70 years ago. And like him, they are walking the hard road.
Read in the "Jerusalem Post":.