Tuesday, October 11, 2005

There can be no free market with those who are not free

When the Chinese government “liberalized” their economy it became so easy for those in the West to only perceive the potential market value that China represented and in our rush to turn a dollar we deliberately ignored the totalitarian grip of steel that suppresses individual liberty that lies at the heart of the sleeping giant.

From the Lost Budgie comes the tale of Mr. Hua. Mr. Hua is a Christian who the Beijing Municipal Security Bureau claims “aided” a Christian activist who traveled to Beijing in order to make an appeal directly to the Chinese government to stop persecuting her church. Mr. Hua has gone into hiding in Beijing and he has made one last appeal and that is for those in the West to speak out against the persecution of Christians by the Chinese government. Lost Budgie has the details of where and how you can add your voice to the protest.

Ironically, The Toronto Star (registration required)carries this opinion piece today:
Make that "an easy walk" to Protestant places of worship. And to mosques and synagogues, although they're a little more remote. So are Hindu and Buddhist temples. And every other kind you can think of, except Roman Catholic.

There may not be any Roman Catholic churches within striking distance. There may not be any left in Canada. Devout Catholics could possibly travel (Cathedral Place will also be in walking distance of the bus terminal) to the Martyr's Shrine at Midland, but it may have become a subdivision. Surely there will be a brass plaque by the side of the highway. It's hard to say where Catholics will worship. But that's their problem. If they don't like it they should get on the phone to the Vatican. The number to call: 011 39 06 698 83511. So the Pope is thinking about excommunicating our Prime Minister, is he?

It isn’t immediately evident why this tirade against the Catholic Church until you read the last line. Apparently, the writer believes that the Catholic Church should not be allowed to conduct her affairs according to church doctrine if that doctrine results in our head of government being denied communion. Sounds like the call for religious persecution to me. If Slinger ever loses his job at the Toronto Star, I bet he would fit right in at the Beijing Municipal Security Bureau; he’s already got the temperament for it.

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