U.S. Christian Protesters Detained, Pro-Tibet Activists Deported

[Redbear]

Source: Wasington Post

"Three American Christian activists calling for greater religious freedom in China were kneeling to conduct a prayer vigil in Tiananmen Square earlier today when plainclothes security guards dragged them off their knees and took them away.

Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, was able to speak to a small group of reporters before he was apprehended. "We have come here today to speak out against the human rights abuses of the Chinese government," he said, according to Reuters.

The group had briefly protested on Wednesday in the same place but were stopped by police when they held up a yellow banner that said "Jesus Christ is king" in English and Mandarin and asked to leave the square.

Meanwhile, the four foreign activists who unfurled giant Tibetan flags outside the Olympic Stadium yesterday were deported from China and are scheduled to arrive at home today, according to a statement released by Students for a Free Tibet."

Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/livecoverage/?hpid=topnews

[David__77]

1. Not too sympathetic for the foreign Christians.

What right do they have to come into China and do this? Tibetans, however, are Chinese citizens.

[Redbear]

2. The right to speak out is a basic human right.

We should never support governments who arrest people for saying things the government does not like.

[PassingFair]

20. Bull.

We would arrest and DEPORT them.

Remember THIS guy?

[Redbear]

21. Very true, our government often falls short on basic human rights as well.

We need to protest all governments who deny basic human rights whether it is quashing political dissent, torture, denial of due process of law, or denial of political rights.

[ohio2007]

26. That sums up most governments in the world

How many govts does HRW ever point out as model states?

They never seem to get headlines and talk about what right in the world

go figger

[The Croquist]

3. Somehow if they weren't christians I suspect you would be more sympathetic

Did you feel the same way a few years ago when Undocumented workers were protesting in the US?

[The Stranger]

4. The original poster really doubts whether these "Christians" are there protesting free speech, or

whether they are there for more self-interested reasons and to expand their influence and power.

Are these same Christians standing up for the Muslims being held without charge in a concentration camp in Cuba?

Yeah, I doubt it too.

[Codeine]

6. Christian or not

they should have the freedom to speak their piece and let their voices be heard.

And Tibetans are Tibetans; Tibet should never be considered a part of China.

[WriteDown]

9. Better be careful doing ANYTHING in China....

if you visit there. Technically, by your logic you do not have a right to any action.

[pegleg]

5. They should consider that they are harming Chinese Christians .

I wonder if that was even a consideration.

[Redbear]

8. It harms Chinese christians to argue that Chinese christians should not be harmed?

We should support all citizens of the earth in their fight for basic human rights.

[noonwitch]

11. Yeah, ignoring human rights violations always makes them go away.

Whatever you may think about Gitmo and the abuse of human rights there, at least we know the place is there, and have some idea of who is being sent there. Those of this in this country who don't like it have the ability to speak out against it.

The Chi/coms don't just persecute christians, they also persecute practitioners of falun gong, buddhism and members of any religion that they consider subversive of their authority.

They also have no qualms about firing on their own citizens in front of television cameras from the west. Hell, their own people didn't see the coverage of the Tiannaman Square massacre on their televisions, but the rest of the world certainly did.

Or have I also fallen for the "anti China" agenda for remembering past history? Someone here accused me of falling for the "anti-Iran agenda" for remembering the hostage crisis.

[pegleg]

12. It harms Chinese christians, when American Christians demonstrate that

when Christians are left to their own devices, they act with impunity. The Americans can go home, the Chinese cannot. If they had knelt and prayed in public it would demonstrated that christians are peaceful and are no threat to the government. Now Christians in China will be more scrutinized.
These people do not represent all American Christians. If Mother Theresa had picketed and conducted civil unrest, she would have never been able to accomplish all of the good that she did.

[The Croquist]

13. If Mother Theresa had picketed and conducted civil unrest, ...

"If Mother Theresa had picketed and conducted civil unrest, she would have never been able to accomplish all of the good that she did."

I guess that Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. shouldn't have conducted peaceful civil unrest either.

Correct me if I'm wrong but they "knelt and prayed in public". Maybe you meant that if Chinese Christians had "knelt and prayed in public it would demonstrated that Christians are peaceful and are no threat to the government." Either that or the government would have hauled them off, never to be seen again demonstrating that Christians are peaceful and are no threat to the government but are persecuted anyway.

Of course they don't represent "all American Christians". Most American Christians either can't afford to fly to China or don't have the guts to do this. George Bush doesn't represent all white people and Barack Obama doesn't represent all black people. Neither represent me. I represent me.

Here is the problem. The Chinese government is used to getting away with this crap without the international community paying much attention. Now with 20,000 foreign journalists each angling for unique stories and hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists wandering around aimlessly with cameras they have their hands full.

The Olympics are going to be a nightmare for the government.

[pegleg]

14. And once the Olympics are over the Chinese Church remains to

bear the consequences.

[The Croquist]

16. What consequences?

They've been suffering these consequences for 60 years.

[pegleg]

17. Who knows what consequences. There are many sanctioned churches

they may shut down. House churches to be raided. Who knows? The diff between these guys and MLK or Ghandi is that these guys can leave their actions behind. MLK and Ghandi stayed and faced the music.
Huge difference. You always need to consider the consequences of your actions.

[The Croquist]

22. I don't buy that argument

These people helped to show people throughout the world what China is really like. This and other examples are already making the Olympics a nightmare for the Chinese government.

They've harassed reporters, censored the internet, arrested tourists, closed Tiananmen square, been embarrassed by athletes wearing face masks, suffered the Beijing pollution numbers being reported daily, had 16 policemen killed and the Olympics don't even start for another 1/2 hour (Opening Ceremonies 08:08 ET).

What's it going to be like by this time tomorrow?

I wonder if there is a website out there documenting all of this.

[pegleg]

23. If a group of Muslims unfurled a banner " Allah Akbar " in an American

public square,it might make them feel good but it would offend many Americans and do absolutely nothing positive for muslims in the US of anywhere else. But if that same group of muslims spends their time and money helping with - SAY - handing out hot meals after a tragedy; then they will have accomplished much more than they would have unfurling a banner declaring their beliefs.The Lord himself did not make his mark by declaring how great he was, but instead by doing good and great things. Healing the sick, feeding the hungry, having compassion on those who screwed up in life.

[Spouting Horn]

24. Gee,

I've seen a lot of dubious "blame America" claims in my day, but your claim (that Chinese Christians will be persecuted by Chinese authorities as the result of actions by American Christians) takes the cake!

Lots of people blame the massacre of millions of European Jews on Jews themselves..."If only they weren't so..."

[MidwestTransplant]

7. I hope this doesn't ruin Bush's photo op at a Church. Perhaps his time would be better spent

helping these people get released from prison.

[951-Riverside]

10. Wow they deported the US/UK activists.

That ended way better than I ever imagined.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

15. Thumbs up to the Tibet stunt. Those guys have balls. -nt

[kskiska]

18. Mahoney is the nutty priest from the Schiavo circus

The one who sometimes wore a monk's robe. He was also one of the Elian wackos.

[Redbear]

19. Exactly.

A real example of " I disagree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it."

If nuts like Mahoney don't have basic human rights, neither do the rest of us.

[ohio2007]

25. Relative of U.S. coach killed in Beijing attack

One other American, local guide also injured by knife-wielding Chinese man



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26104003

[maddezmom]

27. Chinese rights activist Zeng Jinyan disappears

BEIJING - A Chinese human rights activist whose husband was jailed earlier this year has disappeared and may have been taken by police to prevent her from speaking to journalists during the Beijing Olympics, an overseas-based human rights group said Friday.

The group, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said Zeng Jinyan disappeared on Thursday and has not been heard from. Zeng is married to activist Hu Jia, who was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison in April.

"All attempts to contact her have failed. It is feared that Zeng has been taken into police custody and might be mistreated," the group said.

"As the Olympics open in Beijing, it is believed that Zeng was taken away to ensure that no journalists will have access to her and that she will be unable to speak out about Hu Jia during the games," it said in a statement

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080809/ap_on_re_as/china_human_rights;_ylt=AqotaCreHH39TXt0n8mBLRynxQ8F