The Branch Davidian fiasco was a crime against humanity. The Clinton Administration used CS gas against civilians - a gas the US has signed international treaties promising to not use on anyone. They said the reason they did this was to catch David Koresh, a man the government says went jogging every day at 8am...they could've arrested him peacefully when he went jogging but the Clinton group wanted these people dead for some inexplicable reason. They also violated US law by using the US Army on American soil in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.
Waco was the worst kind of violence against liberty.
But the more and more I hear about Falun Gong makes me wonder yet again why these people are hunted down like criminals, imprisoned, and etc. If they are really misguided people, then why not treat them with compassion?
It amazes me how the PRC is trying to put on a good face for the 2008 Olympics all while threatening Taiwan, India, arresting Baptists, seizing Catholic Bibles, and hounding the FG people. What are people like myself supposed to conclude about the PRC when they say they are a civilized government yet they act like a rogue power in dire need of a spanking?
I think the point that many people miss is that what is illegal in China is unauthorized assembly, not religion. You can attend any number of churches for Sunday service in Shanghai. They even ring the church bell to annonce the start of services.
But, you can not take off and form your own church or fellowship gathering. That is illegal. Many equate this with persecution of religious liberty. I liken it more to a lack of personal freedom, again, of assembly.
It is the very same law that told Amway they had to stop their motivational sales meetings when Amway first got started. I remember the Amway office that set up just down the street from my apartment. You know the kind, a black board, rows of chairs facing forward.
The place ran for about two months and as I walked passed and looked in on their meetings I thought to myself, how long is the Chinese government going to allow this to go on. Well, it was not long. They shut it down.
Amway still sells in China, just not the way they started out. By the same argument used to say China is persecution religions in China, you could say they were also persecuting Amway. Now if Amway closed down that office and went somewhere else in the city and set up again, you can bet they would have a problem.
It is the same for the churches. You just can't take up space somewhere and start doing it on your own. There is no freedom of assembly, be it for Amway meetings or to set up a church.