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Is the Chinese Communist Party Really an Advocate for Science as It Claims?
(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? |