There are more questions in the Chinese response to the claim by the UN that China holds a million people in camps reminiscent of Mao and Stalin, similar to the Gulags. China admits that many people required "re-education" but denying the existence of the kind of camps the UN claimed existed. This is a splitting of hairs that sounds stupid to the average person. Yes, we have camps that are needed to retrain people who have been influenced by extremists, but we don't have detention camps. Please....
A Chinese spokesperson was quoted in the article as saying: “On freedom of religious belief, Xinjiang guarantees citizens freedom of religious belief and protects normal religious activities,” he said.
“Those deceived by religious extremism ... shall be assisted by resettlement and re-education,” he added.
Resettlement and re-education, but no camps....
Then, we have to wonder why, in the same area of the country, one of the largest mosques was going to be shut down before protests gave it some more time. Most of the articles have pictures of the place and it is certainly a huge mosque. The Chinese are claiming the mosque did not have proper permits, but it does not look like it is done with construction which took awhile to complete.
One both counts the Chinese relate a series of incredible arguments that don't hold up on even the most casual examinations. They may be able to manage the news, but they need a credible story to tell to make it worth telling these stories. The Chinese are blatantly opposed to organized religion. The Catholics have a difficult time and finally yielded to the controls China wanted. The Muslims are going though the same thing. Getting Imams appointed by the state might be a bridge too far for some Muslims. It's not like the Chinese to carry these kind of arguments along without some credible story that proves their point. This approach sounds like fantasy.
No comments:
Post a Comment