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A worldwide, grassroots movement to boycott the Olympics is gaining steam. David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA, is joining other Christian and political leaders in calling for the boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, China over that country’s genocide against religious minorities.
Curry discussed the actions taken by the Chinese government against Christians and other religious minorities at a news conference unveiling the organization’s 2022 World Watch List this week. Although Open Doors USA ranked China 17th among the top 50 countries where its most difficult to follow Jesus, Curry dedicated a significant portion of the press conference to highlight the religious persecution perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party.
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The Olympics are “one example of how China is using sports, money and investment in infrastructure around the world to whitewash their human rights violation,” he said. Curry praised the Biden administration’s diplomatic boycott of the Olympics but indicated that every Christian in the United States had an obligation to go a step further.
He acknowledged that the persecution of religious minorities extends beyond Christians to include Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in the country’s western region that the Chinese Communist Party subjects to forced labor.
Curry elaborated on his call for a boycott in response to a question from a reporter. “I am suggesting that people don’t watch the Olympics, that they don’t participate in whatever way they normally would,” he said.
Although Curry lamented China’s human rights records, particularly regarding religious minorities, he defended Open Doors USA’s decision not to place China higher on the list of the top 50 most dangerous countries for Christians.
Curry expressed particular concern about China’s use of “centralized government control to suppress and exterminate the free practice of religion of all kinds.” According to Curry, “China’s high-tech noose is slowly choking the free expression of Christian faith and the faith of Muslims and other religious minorities. China is using a blanket of surveillance monitored by artificial intelligence to watch the movements of people of faith.
“It’s even using facial recognition to monitor those who enter places of worship. China recently implemented additional restrictions on Christian Bibles and literature online, for example. Only groups that recognize the Communist Party of China and their censorship of their sermons and Bibles will be allowed to distribute the scripture.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
