Persecution watchdog Open Doors USA is reportedly urging American Christians to boycott the Beijing Olympics that will be held on February 4, 2022 in line with the "ongoing history of human rights abuses" the Chinese government is known to be inflicting against people of faith including Christians and the Uyghur Muslims.
Faithwire said Open Doors USA President David Curry, in an op-ed with former Kansas Governor Sam Brownback at The Hill, said China should be held accountable for its abuses and cited President Joe Biden's Administration declaring a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics that is "more symbolic than substantive." Curry and Brownback then raised the need to really take action against China through a boycott of the Olympics.
"A diplomatic boycott of a sports event is more symbolic than substantive. The only way to apply sufficient pressure to China is to hit them where it hurts: in the pocketbook. The communist nation's leaders are famously rapacious about economic growth, which means they are vulnerable to the decisions of everyday consumers in places like the United States," Curry and Brownback said.
"Now it's up to America's 200 million Christians, and all who care about human rights, to force a change in course by boycotting Beijing's Olympics," they stressed.
Curry and Brownback's statements come after the United States Senate has approved a ban on importing Chinese goods from Xinjang Province where the Uyghur Muslim minority are forced into labor and face other horrendous human rights violations. The ban is the result of the Senate passing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which is co-sponsored by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, New Jersey Representative Chris Smith, and Massachusetts Representative James McGovern.
Biden, through White House Secretary Jen Psaki, conveyed last December 14 his agreement "with Congress that action can and must be taken to hold the People's Republic of China for genocide and human rights abuses and to address forced labor in Xinjiang." Biden stressed at the time that he will sign the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act as soon as possible.
In the op-ed, statistics released by Curry's organization on China's decades-long religious persecution was cited. China ranked 17th in Open Doors USA's World Watch List, which indicates dangerous places for Christians in the world based on gathered accounts of faith-based human rights abuses. Curry and Brownback underscored that the abuses are ongoing and that China ensures those who speak against it would experience not only similar but "often face the greatest persecution."
"As the Olympics commence this winter, China is still actively committing mass genocide against its own citizens. Over a million Uyghur Muslims are interned in a prison camp system designed to crush resistance to Beijing's orders and erase Uyghur culture. Tibetan Buddhists, the Falun Gong and many others have also suffered unspeakable abuses at the hands of an authoritarian government determined to cut off any threat to its control, real or perceived," Curry and Brownback continue.
Curry and Brownback called the attention of American megachurches who "rarely if ever mentioned on Sunday mornings" the persecution of Chinese Christians. The authors noted the very slow effort of organizations to create awareness of China's abuses. This is happening alongside "the outright refusal of celebrities of major sports figures to acknowledge China's repression, at least until the Peng Shuai case, hasn't helped."
"China has suppressed people of faith for over seven decades, starting with the takeover of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. Tens of millions of Chinese Christians today are forced to secretly worship in illegal house churches at their own peril. Our organization, Open Doors USA, has been tracking China's campaign of religious persecution for decades. In 2021, China ranked as the 17th most dangerous place on earth for Christians according to the World Watch List, a global database of faith-based human rights abuses.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg."
The authors suggested ways in which American Christians can actually act on the matter such as calling their legislators about it and religious leaders creating awareness on it through "prayer and fasting."
"People of faith should use their social media platforms to let sponsors know they disapprove of China's treatment of religious minorities," Curry and Brownback emphasized.
"Members of Congress should be inundated with calls and emails from constituents asking how they plan to halt the genocide against Uyghurs and the persecution of Christians. Faith leaders at America's mosques, synagogues and churches should call on their followers to use the Olympics for a time of prayer and fasting in support of the persecuted in China," they stressed.
Other human rights activists and leaders, such as China expert and author Gordon Chang, and Florida Representative Mike Waltz, have previously called to boycott the upcoming Beijing Olympics. A human rights coalition of 180 members also asked the Biden Administration to boycott the event. While Texas Senator Ted Cruz has asked the International Olympic Committee last March to prevent the Winter Olympics from being hosted by China.
Interestingly, 45% of Canadians have already expressed agreement to boycott the said Olympic games in Beijing. In line with this, Canada has offered to host the 2022 Olympics. China responded to all the criticisms against them by threatening to punish countries who will boycott the Beijing 2022 Olympics.
