By Rick Manning

The Democrat impeachment scam of President Donald Trump is giving aid and comfort to the communist regime in China which is violently attacking Hong Kongers who seek to continue living their lives free of Beijing’s oppression. Right now, Chinese government sanctioned police and troops are making the former British holding a bloodier Tiananmen Square, under the blanket of silence created by our nation’s impeachment focus.

Additionally, recent reports that China continues widespread theft of U.S. intellectual property through our university and national science lab system, while at the same time purporting to negotiate in good faith over recognizing and respecting U.S. intellectual property demonstrates the folly of taking Chinese President Xi Zinping at his word in any deal. The awful truth is that right now the Chinese take the U.S. for chumps, who will turn a blind eye to any offense so long as they promise to buy a few extra bushels of soybeans and corn. And they are hoping that the Democrat impeachment fraud will force President Trump into a position where he feels that he needs a deal at any cost.

Fortunately, President Trump can walk and chew gum at the same time, and while it may be painful for those in the U.S. agricultural sector to hear, the President should shut down all trade talks with China until, at the very least, they honor the freedom of the people of Hong Kong.

History has confirmed to China’s government that they can have the fruits of freedom through an economic partnership with the U.S. while enslaving its own people, because Americans are more concerned with LeBron James’ latest Nike shoes than the child and forced laborers who produce them.

America has repeatedly been told about millions of Uyghur Muslims being placed in concentration camps for “re-education.” While these are horrifying, the daily stock market tally credited to “Chinese trade progress” is somehow more important than millions of people enslaved.

What many don’t realize is that the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs 2018 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor lists China as one of the worse labor abusers in the world. China uses some combination of forced or child labor to produce textiles, artificial flowers, Christmas decorations, coal, footwear, garments, nails, bricks, cotton, electronics, fireworks and toys. Think about that as you shop for your children or grandchildren’s Christmas presents, the very gift you give them may very well have been made by someone your child’s age subjected to sweatshop conditions. Yet, multi-national corporations and their shills continue to whine about President Trump’s imposition of tariffs against Chinese goods which force the relocation of corporate supply chains away from these slavers.

Even worse, the Chinese use political dissidents as live organ donors makes Planned Parenthood’s baby body parts business look almost humane. And Christian churches and believers are regularly jailed for simply possessing the Bible as the atheist state seeks to assert absolute control over the minds and bodies of those who have the misfortune to live under their rule. Yet, somehow, we worry more about whether the latest iPhone has a cool camera rather than the bloody fingers who are forced to produce it.

The people of Hong Kong cry out resisting this oppression begging the people of the United States to join them in their quest for freedom. President Trump should answer this call by ending all trade discussions with the rogue Chinese government, focusing instead upon strengthening trade ties with other free countries around the world. Additionally, there should be a concerted effort by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to relieve countries like Kenya of the debt they have incurred due to China’s Belt and Road initiative which has resulted in China’s potential takeover of Kenya’s strategically vital Mombasa Port.

Let’s be clear. The Chinese government is not a benign economic partner in the world, but instead is a country that has a strategic plan to defeat the United States. The Chinese government are not benevolent dictators, as they engage in abuses against those who seek freedom of religion or opportunity. The Chinese have not changed for the better due to their engagement with the U.S. through commerce, but instead have economically coerced companies, like the NBA, ESPN and Disney, who are in their markets to become advocates and apologists for grotesque Chinese policy.

As we enter into this Christmas season, Americans should show support for Hong Kong and the Chinese people by looking at the label, and if it says “made in China” putting it back on the shelves. When you go to the check-out stand, tell the person ringing you up that you really liked a couple of skirts, shoes and electronic items but could not buy them because of the made in China label. When millions of Americans do this, retailers will get the message and supply chains will change. And as China finds that destroying freedom, enslaving children and religious minorities, and using political or religious dissidents as living organ donors are unacceptable in a civilized world, perhaps they will change. Then and only then, the U.S. government should work on a trade deal, because a deal with the devil is always a deal with the devil, even if it saves you a few coins up front.

Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.