Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began nearly two months ago, American elites have taken the concept of virtue signaling to a whole new level.
Whether it’s comedian Amy Schumer’s ill-fated attempt to book Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for an appearance at the Oscars or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bizarre performance of a Ukraine-inspired poem on St. Patrick’s Day, the idolatry of Zelensky and his country is in a league of its own. While this isn’t to say Russia’s violent acts aren’t grotesque, the purported concern for human rights among America’s ruling class remains weightless given their silence over another atrocity taking place on the opposite side of the world.
In China, the country’s ruling Communist Party (CCP) is engaged in a brazen assault on the natural rights of its civilian population. Following a reported rise of coronavirus cases in the city of Shanghai, the communist government has been pursuing a strict “Covid zero” policy, in which state authorities seek to contain and eliminate all cases of the respiratory virus. To accomplish this unrealistic goal, the CCP has shut down its largest city, with police forcing citizens to remain locked inside their homes against their will.
Such a policy has led to immense suffering among Shanghai residents, as reports indicate that “food shortages, lack of access to medical care, overcrowded quarantine centers,” and incidents of “infants [being] separated from their parents” are becoming widespread across the city. Citizens who demonstrate opposition to their government’s Covid approach face immediate detainment, with numerous videos showing state police harshly arresting individuals for noncompliance.
In addition to Shanghai, multiple other Chinese localities have begun to increase restrictions in anticipation of rising cases, including the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, Xian, and Suzhou.
Despite such barbaric acts, American elites have opted for silence when it comes to criticizing the CCP over the societal shutdown. While corporations such as The Walt Disney Company were quick to offer condemnation of the Ukraine invasion and halt all theatrical film releases in Russia, the entertainment company infatuated with grooming children has yet to criticize the Chinese government for starving its own people. Hollywood is known for caving to China’s content demands.
The move from Disney is unsurprising, given that the company filmed its live-action “Mulan” reboot in China’s Xinjiang region, where the CCP is currently holding an estimated 2 million Uyghur Muslims in internment camps. In the end credits for the movie, Disney thanked multiple CCP propaganda departments in the region, evoking the ire of human rights activists and organizations.
In the political world, the willingness to turn a blind eye to China’s inhumane behavior is very much the same. Among the standouts is Democrat California Rep. Eric Swalwell, whose Twitter feed and media appearances include numerous examples of outcry over the Russian onslaught of Ukraine, but contain no mention of the CCP’s brutal treatment of Chinese civilians. Also noticeably quiet on China’s abuses is Sen. Mitt Romney. While the Utah Republican has time to tweet about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he’s apparently too busy to recognize the suffering of the Chinese people.
Put simply, the choice among America’s ruling class to remain silent over the human rights abuses in China has nothing to do with ignorance and everything to do with agreement. It’s not that our elites aren’t aware of what’s happening in China, it’s that they either don’t care or actively support the lockdown policies of the CCP. Just as these same entities and institutions sat idle while our Canadian neighbors to the north peacefully demonstrated against their government’s authoritarian Covid mandates, they will continue to do the same with respect to Shanghai.
No matter the amount of pain or anguish caused, the elitist belief that government is the answer to every societal problem will continue to persist, leaving millions to suffer in its wake.
