Thou shalt love thy Chinese neighbor as thyself

Dear Editor,

I would like to commend the Chinese Community Association of The Bahamas for the generous food donations to the Red Cross, which will undoubtedly go a long way toward feeding many hungry Bahamian families in Nassau. It was a kind gesture.

Unfortunately, for the Chinese community in Nassau and Freeport, some of its members have been subjected to negative racial stereotyping by suspicious Bahamians, subsequent to the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Wuhan, China.

One reason for this discrimination is due to long held beliefs among Bahamians regarding the dietary culture of the Chinese people.

With our ancestral roots being from Africa, it may be a source of shock to most Bahamians to learn that African countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and South Africa practice entomophagy. Insects such as termites, crickets, caterpillars and palm weevils are delicacies in these African jurisdictions.

Notwithstanding the claim by the government of the People’s Republic of China that 90 percent of the over 1.4 billion Chinese population is either non-religious or atheist, I am inclined to believe the United States-based human rights group Freedom House’s estimates of there being close to 100 million Christians in China, is much closer to the truth.

Between 1966 and 1979, religion was banned in China by Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong, who ruled China with an iron fist between 1949 and 1976, the year he died.

Built on the foundation of Marxism, which is atheistic at its core, it was inevitable that Zedong would’ve viewed evangelical Christianity as an arch rival to his Marxist ideology.

With the Chinese government relaxing its hands on religious activities in 1979, China has witnessed the re-emergence of Protestant and Catholic Christianity, Islam, Taoism and Confucianism — the latter two being philosophies with religious elements, albeit pagan in nature.

With over 95 percent of Bahamians subscribing to the Judeo-Christian tradition — albeit the overwhelming majority from a cultural standpoint — Bahamians should demonstrate solidarity with the beleaguered Chinese underground Christian community by showing kindness to their ethnic counterparts in this jurisdiction.

One way to do this is by treating them with dignity.

As Leviticus 19:18 says in the Authorized Version, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

With the Chinese community living among us, as Bahamians who claim to know the God of the Bible, we must love our Chinese neighbors as ourselves!

— Kevin Evans

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