The US State Department under Ms. Rice is unable to comprehend the terms of "MFN/PNTR" agreements--
Either that, or the US State Department and Ms. Rice don't really give a damn:
Another Chinese bishop has been arrested by the Communist authorities. Bishop Martin Wu Qinjing of Zhouzhi in the Shaanxi province was taken into custody. He was ordained a bishop last year, but not approved by the Communist government, which forbade him from exercising his ministry.
The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations, including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in illegal, underground churches, following only bishops appointed by the Pope, although the divisions are not hard and fast. Many priests and laypeople, and even bishops, are members of the patriotic association in public, and of the underground Church, in secret.
All that "human rights" stuff in the treaties--irrelevant. We have the US Department of Commerce and certain members of the Fortune 500 to deal with.
What's more important?
Well, really, we've decided that China can get away with whatever it wants, provided we can still get a pair of sneakers for $10 at Walmart. We buy their stuff, we endorse their system. It's that f^%*ing simple. And the American people are endorsing Red China to the tune of $243 billion just last year.
ReplyDeleteOur appetites will be the end of us, as a nation, we are being devoured by our consumption.