Chinese official calls on Bush to practice religious tolerance
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP Ye Xiaowen, China’s director of the State Bureau of Religious Affair has published a clear rebuke in the People’s Daily of President George W. Bush’s “unilateral” war on terrorism, which he argues has worsened global tensions. Ye also urged the U.S. President to “reflect deeply” upon his ill-judged decision to turn the fight against terrorism into ...
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP
Ye Xiaowen, China's director of the State Bureau of Religious Affair has published a clear rebuke in the People's Daily of President George W. Bush's "unilateral" war on terrorism, which he argues has worsened global tensions. Ye also urged the U.S. President to "reflect deeply" upon his ill-judged decision to turn the fight against terrorism into a religious war through employing terms such as "crusade" and "Islamic fascism," the New York Times reports.
Religious intolerance has been a key sticking point in U.S.-China relations in the past, but the criticism usually flows in the opposite direction. President Bush has repeatedly called upon the Chinese government to protect religious freedom in light of China's well-publicized crackdowns on Falun Gong followers (see also today's blog post) and members of the Muslim Uighur minority.
Ye Xiaowen, China’s director of the State Bureau of Religious Affair has published a clear rebuke in the People’s Daily of President George W. Bush’s “unilateral” war on terrorism, which he argues has worsened global tensions. Ye also urged the U.S. President to “reflect deeply” upon his ill-judged decision to turn the fight against terrorism into a religious war through employing terms such as “crusade” and “Islamic fascism,” the New York Times reports.
Religious intolerance has been a key sticking point in U.S.-China relations in the past, but the criticism usually flows in the opposite direction. President Bush has repeatedly called upon the Chinese government to protect religious freedom in light of China’s well-publicized crackdowns on Falun Gong followers (see also today’s blog post) and members of the Muslim Uighur minority.
This type of personal public criticism of a U.S. president by a senior Chinese official is rare, but it’s certainly not the first time China has felt compelled to draw attention to what it perceives to be American “double standards.” Since 1999, China has responded to the U.S. State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices with its own list of abuses committed by the United States. The list has included criticisms over Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and the high number of civilian deaths in Iraq. Here’s a particularly shrill excerpt from 2005:
[The United States] frequently commits wanton slaughters during external invasions and military attacks.
Perhaps this most recent riposte over religious intolerance should be welcomed, though—if it prompts China to practice what it preaches.
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