An EP-3 Surveillance Plane like the one damaged by the Chinese fighter (Photo Courtesy of DefenseLINK)
Responding to the mistreatment of the EP-3 surveillance plane’s crew, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) has issued a public statement calling for a reality check on American foreign policy with the communist Chinese. The document especially highlights the continued persecution of Chinese Catholics. The statement will be published in The Washington Times (April 18) and other newspapers. It will also be distributed in public street campaigns in cities nationwide.
Titled “Shattering Myths: A Reality Check on China,” the TFP document points out how successive American administrations have pursued a China policy based on the illusion that the Chinese would abandon communism through dialogue.
Over the years, the West has opened every door to the Chinese, extending credits, technology, educational facilities and other aid. In the year 2000 alone, the United States sustained an $86 billion trade deficit with China.
Despite massive Western assistance, the TFP document notes that the brazen attitude of the Chinese government throughout the EP-3 incident and other events “clearly demonstrate that the ongoing ‘dialogue’ with China must come down from the clouds.”
Eternal and Natural Law: The Foundation of Morals and Law
The Chinese record is far from encouraging. The Chinese government maintains its obstinate attachment to a communist ideology. Human rights violations continue on a massive scale. Brutal birth-control officials force women to undergo abortions. Torture is widespread and systemic in China.
The TFP further notes that the Catholic Faith is outlawed in China. Churches are demolished; bishops and priests are beaten and detained. Moreover, American technology finds its way into military programs that are part of its aggressive military buildup.
“The fact of the matter is that behind the EP-3 incident,” the TFP statement concludes, “looms the larger problem of China’s unrepentant communist dictatorship.” The United States can no longer pretend there is freedom in a land where the most basic civil liberties are routinely or arbitrarily denied. America cannot pretend to be a strategic partner, competitor, or ally with a regime that treats it like an enemy.
The TFP statement appeals to our nation’s leaders and the public at large to adopt a fundamental change of attitude toward China. The EP-3 incident poignantly demonstrated that the Chinese communists are not to be trusted. This fact should above all be remembered when crossing the threshold of a shopping mall or supercenter.
Finally, the TFP stressed the need to maintain a military sufficiently strong to defend America and its allies against dictatorial and expansionist regimes.
To read the complete text of this message, which is being distributed in the streets in public campaigns, click here.