Last quarter I had you watch The Tank Man. Most of you seemed to like the video. Many of you were understandably shocked by how today’s young people and students in China did not know about or had forgotten the T*a*an*^n S***r* incident of the same day of this post, 19 years ago (click HERE for a picture that is worth a thousand words in memoriam to those brave souls who put themselves on the line that day; h/t to the China Law Blog for the picture lead).

This article in today’s Wall Street Journal (click HERE) touches on this very point. See, read and learn more about this phenomenon among the youth and college educated of today’s China. Your thoughts?

See also this recent WSJ article. Christian Groups Step Delicately in Sichuan. I had written on this very topic in my recent post, Human Rights, Part II. This raises an interesting religious, moral, legal and ethical question: What would Jesus do?

That is …

1. Would he travel to Sichuan, and pray, comfort and give counseling (only) and not violate or challenge Chinese law that forbids proselytizing in China, particularly by foreigners (at least via spoken as opposed to conduct)?

OR

2. Would he travel to China and enter China under the guise of signaling aid and comfort as the reason for being there but the true purpose being otherwise (see related quote in the article, “When Jesus said go out to the world and preach the gospel, he didn’t say just go to those places where you can get a visa.”)?

OR

3. Does is matter what said motivation is for going there? The point being he went and he served.

I don’t have a clue what he (or any icon in another religion) would do in this situation. I am a mere mortal that cannot read heavenly minds. Nor do I have the confidence to boldly advise others that the answer is black and white due to a piece of scripture I select to support my case while ignoring those segments that may suggest otherwise.

This is a difficult question but an important one to ask for China, its future, and how China and religious organizations interact in the future for the betterment of a “harmonious” society.

What do you think?