Battleangel

After Bush’s insidious free market, neoliberal crusade and visit to China, this remains the most remarkable of his antics and demands.

CNN - Bush’s first public event during his two-day state visit to China was a worship service at Gangwashi Church, one of five officially recognized Protestant churches in Beijing. It was Bush’s way of nudging Chinese leaders to expand religious freedom to the communist nation’s 1.3 billion people.

Later, standing alongside Hu, Bush said, “It is important that social, political and religious freedoms grow in China.” “We encourage China to continue making a historic transition to greater freedom,” the president said.

Bush received a standing ovation when he entered the sanctuary, which looked much like a classroom with wooden movie theater seats. There was more applause when the pastor announced his presence, and members of the choir assembled outside to see Bush off afterward.

“The spirit of the Lord is very strong inside your church,” Bush said. In the church’s guest book, Bush wrote “May God bless the Christians of China.”

First of all I really wish CNN and the corporate media would quit with the grandstanding and the communist libel. I somehow doubt they put it in their for correctness and that their tainted view of communism is somewhat different than the reformed and essentially debunked communism that the Chinese communist party still claims due to, again, historical reasons. You can appreciate that China’s leadership gain some legitimacy from that old and murky term and that they for romantic reasons aren’t so quick to give it up. But the rationale for US news media isn’t so noble. Their only stake in this is to further American Empire by ways of lambasting China as a brutal dictatorship. And a threat to America, which “communist” obviously has become synonymous with. That is smearing. It would be just like CNN adding the adjective fascist when describing the policy of its own government, ehr, I meant regime.

About religious freedoms, China is a role model to the rest of the world in that it officially is atheist. If anything we should learn from them how to curb religious influence and sedition. What Bush did here is nothing unlike what the U.S. did when it refused to deal with the democratically elected government of Venezuela and instead invited the opposition to the Black House. It’s insulting and it’s subversion. Not only does the U.S. constantly bring up insignificant issues that are designed to annoy many in China but appeal to those most friendly to U.S. policies. Hey, they do exist. We have them in Sweden too so why expect anything else for China. Religion is the worst kind of cultural imperialism when it is so closely linked to a single country. And in this case it could be even more pernicious. Growing a loyal and dissenting base inside China could be the first step towards a coup d’état or at least a cultivation of elements more favorable to U.S. interests. And the best part is Bush and others can keep a straight face and point to the liberal ideals, which no sane person can reject, yet are flouted by the U.S. when it suits their fancy.

According to NationMaster, China currently has the following rather sketchy religious constitution: “Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%.”