August 15, 2001

The hope was that awarding the 2008 Olympic games to Beijing would encourage China's leaders to be more humane to their own people. But there is no sign yet that the communist regime has any intention of actually changing its oppressive behavior.

News leaked out this week that police in Baoding demolished the gravesite of Catholic Bishop Peter Joseph Fan Xueyan, who died in custody nine years ago. [...]

Last Friday, Hong Kong members of Falun Gong staged a protest in the Special Administrative Region against the imprisonment of one of their local members in the mainland. Chan Yuk-to, a permanent resident of Hong Kong, was released Saturday after a month in prison and no contact with his family. Supposedly, while illegal on the mainland, Falun Gong adherents have freedom of religion in the SAR -- obviously that right doesn't count for much the second one steps over the border.

The imprisonment of Mr. Chan comes at a time when [...]

Beijing say that the crackdown in China has caused membership in the group to diminish drastically. That's no big surprise. It is estimated that at least 50,000 members of the spiritual movement have been imprisoned and as many as 260 have died while in custody.

Whether they are Catholics or Protestants, Falun Gong or Tibetan Buddhists, Beijing tortures and murders Chinese who believe in religions that the [party's name omitted] does not control. Awarding the 2008 Olympics to China hasn't provided any relief from Communist tyranny so far. Was it unrealistic To ope that it ever would?

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