(Clearwisdom.net) The Chinese Communist Party's newspapers, magazines, radio stations and TV stations announce on a daily basis that the CCP advocates science and is against "superstition." Playing on fears generated from the era when other countries seemingly invaded China at will, the CCP proclaims itself as the force behind making China a stronger country through science and modernization.
It seems on the surface to be a relatively harmless claim, until one considers how the CCP has used that claim. Over the course of its reign, the CCP has slapped the label of "superstition" on many groups, including traditional Buddhists monks, Christians, and Falun Gong practitioners, and then proceeded to subject them to brutal persecution that includes outright murder.
As the overwhelming political voice in China, the CCP is able to label things as "scientific" or "superstitious" at will, and selectively uses those labels to get its way. So is the CCP truly about advancing science and making decisions for the good of the people based on scientific principles? Let's take a look at a few cases.
In November 2002, SARS broke out in Guangdong Province. For this type of extremely contagious disease, it should have been reported immediately and contained. But because it happened prior to the CCP's Sixteenth Conference and the plague would have been an embarrassment to the regime's competence, it was covered up. It eventually spiraled out of control and became a global epidemic, when it could have been easily contained if the CCP had been transparent about what had happened in Guangdong Province. Was this decision made on the basis of science and for the good of the people?
The year 2006 marked the 30th anniversary of deadly Tangshan Earthquake, where hundreds of thousands died. A book entitled "Warnings to the World Preceding Tangshan" was published, but it was shut down by the CCP Department of Propaganda immediately. The book uncovered many facts about technicians who accurately predicted the incoming disaster numerous times, and how the CCP deliberately covered up and sealed the information. Because it could embarrass the CCP, the book was quickly banned and removed from circulation, in spite of its scientific value.
In 1986, the CCP initiated the Three Gorges Project and made it the flagship project in its self-appointed quest to "master nature." When Professor Wang Wanli, a prominent scientist in this field, wrote numerous letters to top administrators regarding the ecological dangers the Three Gorge Project would bring, he was brushed aside and replaced. In May of 2000, Zhang Guangdou, who is responsible for the Three Gorges Project, discovered that the flood control capability of the project was well below standard. His reaction was to warn the director of the construction office, "This information should never be let out to the public." Experts from China and abroad have repeatedly pointed out that the terrible ecological damage caused by the project, but because of its high profile, it was allowed to be completed at an astronomical cost, both financially and environmentally.
These are just some glaring examples of how science is conveniently shoved aside when it goes up against the CCP's hold on its political power. Can the CCP, then, really claim to be an advocate of science?
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Category: Perspectives
