With the 2022 Winter Olympics set to begin in China in just a few days time, there is a deafening silence about one of the worst of human sins: Genocide.
The Unites Nations defines Genocide this way: Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
Killing members of the group;
Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
An Age-Old Sin
The world has seen this sin committed many, many times. The twentieth century alone saw an overwhelming volume of Genocide.
Adolf Hitler’s Concentration camps, where 6 million Jews were tortuously murdered.
Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator, conservatively murdered 20 million of his own people. The number is likely much higher, with one scholar stating, “Every [Russian] family had people who died [under Stalin].”
Mao Zedong, President of the People’s Republic of China (also known as “Chairman Mao”), exterminated approximately 45 million Chinese people between the years of 1958-1962. A 2016 Washington Post article calls Mao the biggest mass murderer in history.
-That means that, conservatively, 70 million people or more died in the 20th century alone from Genocide.
A Modern Day Tragedy.
The BBC reports “A UN human rights committee in 2018 said it had credible reports that China was holding up to a million people in "counter-extremism centers" in Xinjiang.”
The United States, along with Canada and the Netherlands, have accused China of committing genocide against the Uyghur people group in the Xinjiang region of China.
-The allegations against China are as follows:
Interning Uyghurs in camps.
Forcibly mass sterilizing Uyghur women to suppress the population.
Separating children from their families.
Attempting to break the cultural traditions of the group.
-The Current U.S. Seretary of State, Anthony Blinkin is on record stating, “China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity.”
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute found evidence in 2020 of more than 380 of these "re-education camps" in Xinjiang, an increase of 40% on previous estimates.
Hypocrisy and the Olympics?
So, the questions is, why is the United States of America willing participating in the Olympics when they are being held in a country that is committing genocide?
In our own country, human rights are at a fever-pitch. Politicians, governmental leaders, celebrities, clergymen, and countless other cultural leaders speak constantly about the sin of racism, bigotry, and discrimination in our country.
But, what about the verified crimes against humanity in China? A deafening silence.
The NBA and NFL are among the most prominent sporting organizations in the U.S. which speak out constantly against racism and discrimination. And Lebron James, one of the NBA’s biggest stars, constantly disparages the United States for what he perceives as racism against black males. But his comments seem to be limited only to black males; he does not seem to display a concern for humanity in general. He says nothing about China.
But, that’s not surprising. NBA China, a separate business arm of the NBA, is worth around $5 billion dollars and brings in hundred of millions of dollars for the league every year. And China does not take kindly to being called out.
So, the question is, why is America participating in the Chinese Olympics?
If we are a country who cares so deeply about human rights—and we certainly claim to be such a country—it seems contradictory that we would support and participate in these Chinese Olympics while they are held in a country actively committing genocide.
If that doesn’t persuade you, consider this…
Would you support American participation in the Olympics in 1939 if they were being held in Germany?
We Ought to Pray.
Christians ought to be deeply concerned and grieved about the Chinese genocide against the Uyghur people. They are people that bear the image of God. They are people who possess worth and dignity. They are people owed all the rights of humanity. And they are people being exterminated.
We ought to pray for the Uyghur people that are suffering under Chinese genocide.
We ought to pray for God’s justice to rain down upon the wicked Chinese government.
We ought to pray for the gospel in China.
We ought to pray for the moral courage to stand against China with more than words.
We ought to pray for and call on our American government to stand against this genocide.
We ought to pray…