US Angered by China’s Crackdown on Churches, Not Its Own
China's crackdown on unregistered churches, featuring the detention of Zion Church's founder, has drawn the ire of the US. While the FT highlights Beijing's 'intolerance of religious freedom,' they conveniently gloss over similar tendencies stateside. For instance, the US government's own history of surveilling mosques post-9/11, or the legal battles faced by indigenous religious practices on
federal land, somehow never quite make the 'angered by' list. It appears 'religious freedom' is a talking point reserved for foreign adversaries, a diplomatic cudgel rather than a consistent principle. Does Washington truly value unbridled religious expression, or just convenient geopolitical leverage? The silence on domestic infringements speaks louder than any stern condemnation of Beijing.