5 concepts to know about human rights abuses in China

The ERLC, along with a broad coalition of human rights and religious freedom advocates, is advocating for the U.S. to counter China morally because of the communist state’s rising persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians. As part of that effort, the ERLC is hosting a webinar today on “China’s Rising Threat to Human Rights.”

The webinar will include Ambassador Samuel D. Brownback, U.S. Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom at the State Department; Nury Turkel, USCIRF Commissioner; Rushan Abbas, Founder and Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs; Russell D. Moore, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; and Travis Wussow, Vice President for Public Policy and General Counsel of the ERLC.

In preparation for the session, here are five concepts you should know to better understand the human rights abuses in China.

This Week at the ERLC

• Jason Thacker has an article at Christianity Today about using technology wisely during the pandemic and an article at The Gospel Coalition about ethics and the digital age. He was also quoted in WORLD about Clearview AI and privacy.

• Russell Moore met with First Baptist Church Heath virtually last week to discuss the mission of the ERLC, recent SCOTUS cases, and his book. He also talked to the Rabbit Room Podcast about his upcoming book and will be joining the Adopting Hope podcast from Christianity Today.

• The policy team in Washington, D.C., is hosting a webinar today at 1 p.m. about China and its human rights violations.

• Travis Wussow was quoted in Baptist Press about the new Spanish version of the Caring Well handbook. 

What You Need to Read

• Michael and Chelsea Sobolik with How the Chinese Communist Party is persecuting Uyghur Muslims

Since 2017, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has waged a systemic campaign of oppression and persecution against Uyghur Muslims, a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group. The geographic scope of the CCP’s campaign against Uyghurs is global, but primarily restricted to Xinjiang, China’s western-most territory, where Uyghurs have lived for centuries. Under the guise of national security, the CCP is seeking to “pacify” the region with totalitarian tactics like pervasive surveillance, thought control, ideological reeducation, forced birth control, and compulsory labor. Life for many Uyghurs is a living nightmare.

• Travis Wussow with What Hong Kong reveals about the future of China

The political and security situation in Hong Kong—and the posture of Beijing toward the city—has moved at an incredible and alarming pace. Today, the future of Hong Kong is unclear. Since the 19th century, Hong Kong has served as a sort of doorway between the East and the West. It appears that this door is closing—it may very well already be closed. What this means for relationships between Eastern and Western nations remains to be seen, as do the personal futures of Hong Kong’s nearly eight million residents.

• Alex Ward with Explainer: IVG is the newest technological threat to the family structure

In vitro gametogensis is the process of creating gametes (sex cells) from other human cells, usually stem cells. The process of sex cell creation occurs in the reproductive organs of men and women, with either a sperm cell or egg produced. However, IVG allows individuals to take any cell from any portion of the body—skin, muscle, organ—and through a series of processes create a gamete. Thus, a single individual—or two men, or two women, or four individuals—could have both a sperm and egg produced which could then be fertilized.

News From Capitol Hill

The advancement of international religious liberty is a long-held priority of the ERLC because it is a long-held passion of Southern Baptists. Of all the resolutions passed throughout the history of the annual SBC meeting, those supporting religious freedom are near the top of the messengers' shared concerns. This unity of purpose flows from our trust in God’s Word which tell us that governing authorities are instituted by God to uphold his good design for human flourishing, to be a terror, not to good conduct, but to bad. (Rom. 13) Christians follow Jesus when we stand up for our vulnerable neighbors and push back on regimes who persecute their citizens.

The ERLC’s policy team in Washington is leading on multiple fronts to counter abusive regimes. In addition to our efforts on China’s rising threat to human rights, we are also engaged with a coalition of advocates confronting the Burmese government for their atrocities against the Rohingya people. 

This week, we led a multifaith letter calling for the U.S. Department of State to designate the continued brutal oppression of the Rohingya as a genocide. The letter was delivered with over 30 signatories, notably including International Campaign for the Rohingya, 21Wilberforce, Bethany Christian Services, and International Christian Concern.

For decades, the Burmese government has repeatedly violated the human rights of ethnic minority groups by suppressing religious freedom, arbitrarily arresting and torturing civilians, and attacking innocent women and children, with the Rohingya people facing particularly harsh persecution. A genocide designation at this time, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, would also help in bringing much-needed attention and humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya. You can learn more about this situation and read the letter here.

Featured Podcasts

From The Public Square