The government of China oppresses anyone who poses a threat to their power.

[trotsky]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_dissidents

On that list are people of multiple religious faiths, and some of no faith at all. What they have in common is that they are a threat to the power of the Chinese state.

Some people may seek to minimize or distract from religious intolerance elsewhere in the world by claiming that the Chinese government (officially atheist) is only persecuting theists. This is simply not true. Do not be deceived by those with an obvious agenda.

People in China - regardless of their personal religious beliefs - live under an oppressive authoritarian government. If you do anything to suggest you might not be a loyal and obedient subject, you will likely face severe consequences. It doesn't matter if you are a theist or an atheist.

[NeoGreen]

1. Are you suggesting...

...that people have told LIES in regards to who is persecuting who and for what reasons?

They wouldn't be the type of people who look to push an agenda, would they?

Just askin'...

Inquiring minds and all that...

[trotsky]

2. I am not merely suggesting, but explicitly saying.

A lie of omission is still a lie.

The government of China persecutes theists and atheists alike.

[zipplewrath]

4. Not alike

They persecute theists because the theists are "loyal" to a power outside of China.
They persecute atheists because they attempt to sway others to resist the authority of the state.

China works with the RCC in an attempt to control the faithful. They don't work with atheists who attempt to resist the power of the State.

[Major Nikon]

6. Alike

The Chinese government has no diplomatic ties to the Vatican and the Catholic Church in China operates independently from the RCC with very few exceptions.

The treatment for those the party deems disloyal is the same.

[zipplewrath]

9. There are continued discussions

The Vatican is in almost continuous discussions over who has authority over the Church in China. The vatican is generally on the "losing" end of these discussions.

[trotsky]

8. Thank you for admitting they persecute atheists too.

Both pose a threat to the power structure.

I appreciate your agreement.

[zipplewrath]

10. both

Yes, they both do, for different reasons.

[trotsky]

11. You are much closer to accepting reality than your good friend. That's excellent.

Again, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you acknowledging that atheists are persecuted in China too.

But there are many approved religions in China. There are plenty of Chinese people who believe in and worship a higher power, but are not threatened by the state. So your distinction is a false one. The common thread here is people who aren't doing what the state tells them to.

Come join us in the real world. It's invigorating.

[NeoGreen]

5. Wow...

...duplicity, in the name of religion?

Wow...just...wow.

Apparently you can't have one without the other.

[Major Nikon]

7. The motivation for the lie is intolerance of atheism

We must somehow believe that atheism is no different than theism, even though there's is nothing about atheism that instructs anyone to do anything, unlike theism. Throw in a bit of whataboutism and you can excuse any bad behavior motivated by theism by pretending atheism does the same.

[trotsky]

12. The funniest part about all of that...

is that he's admitting that at best, religion can do *nothing* to improve people's behavior. People are gonna do people things no matter what they do (or don't) believe, is his argument.

Strange to see a believer cling so tightly to the position that religion doesn't make us any better.

[MineralMan]

3. That's the standard way all authoritarian governments operate.

You can believe anything you wish, as long as you keep it strictly to yourself, but you can't disagree with the government's position on anything in public.

Tyrants are tyrants, regardless of the philosophy behind their tyranny.

China is very tightly focused on its political beliefs. Go against those on any pretext, and you'll find yourself being oppressed. It's the nature of the beast.

Focusing on China's oppression of one group, religious or otherwise, is missing the entire point.

[marylandblue]

13. The stories I'm reading out of China are more complex than this group is acknowledging

There isn't just one type of repression in China. There is the repression of political dissenters that can fall on anybody in the country.

But there is also ethno-religious repression that has fallen on Tibetans, Uighurs and now Kazhakhs, where China is attempting to culturally assimilate ethnic minorities including stamping out or controlling their religion. This type of repression is falling on entire groups, not just individual dissenters.

[trotsky]

14. Yes, exactly.

This isn't simply "an intolerant atheistic government persecuting theists" as some have tried to portray it.

[Voltaire2]

15. The latest group is slacker gamers who

Are running afoul of their social credit monitoring system.

It’s not a religion or an ethnicity, it’s a lifestyle.