Religious Persecution?

The latest in the abuse of human rights, at least according to Western media, involves the Chinese government forbidding seemingly innocuous churchgoers from attending service. Members of the Shouwang Church have reported that nearly 200 worshippers have been arrested and/or detained over the past several months. Many of those who have been taken away are members of the educated class including lawyers, students, artists, etc. According to authorities, the Showuwang Church has yet to gain legitimacy due to its failure to register properly with “state-sanctioned operations” that require censorship of particular religious material. Because the government has not approved of the Shouwang Church, hundreds of members have been illegally gathering inside a private, unofficial “house.”

One particular CNN article had an accompanying video interview with a young member of the Shouwang Church, which had the effect of personalizing the issue. The article opens in a rather flowery fashion stating, “This calm denim-clad 28-year-old identifies herself only as Water, based on the Chinese characters that make up her first name. She has been deemed an enemy of the state, an unlikely label for a petite and well-educated woman who eschews violence and confrontation.” The fact that the article goes so far as describing her appearance and social status may likely serve to gain some sympathy points from its audience. Moreover, the quotes that they drew from her interview were quite dramatic. One such quote that was highlighted in large print on the sidescreen of the webpage was the following: “They try to harass your family, your workplace and your landlord.” The particular syntax structure, which involves listing, conveys the sense that the power and pressure of the government are thoroughly pervasive/invasive. Additionally, I noticed that the majority of the translated quotes they used, much like this one, often referred to the pronoun “they” to refer to the Chinese government. In reiterating the term “they”, the article may contribute to an “us” and “them” mentality, further perpetuating the biases maintained by Western audiences.