China is one of history’s most dangerous countries.

In August, the United Nations reported that China is holding

approximately one million minority Muslims in Xinjiang concentration
camps. Its government supports anti-democratic regimes and terrorist
groups worldwide.

Its military is seeking to expand its territory in Japanese and South

Korean areas of the East China Sea. It is aggressively pursuing the
same objectives in parts of the South China Sea bordering the
Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It is
encroaching upon Indian and Bhutanese territory in the Himalayan
mountains. And, of course, it claims the democratic and sovereign
nation of Taiwan for its own.

China’s current autocratic predation follows a violent history of

Chinese territorial expansion in Tibet and Xinjiang. It also includes a
record of breaking international agreements — for example, the 1984
Sino-British Joint Declaration on the transfer of Hong Kong from
Britain to China.

Since 2013, President Xi Jinping has increased military spending,

hyped China’s nationalism, repressed minorities and human rights
activists. He has eliminated term limits on his swelling personal form
of rule, and extended the geographic reach and individual depth of
state surveillance within and outside of China.

The Chinese Communist Party is assaulting religion, not only through

detention of Muslims, but by tearing down crosses from churches.
This is the first time in 1,500 years that the ancient Buddhist temple
raised a flag. It was done under duress. Most recently, on August 27,
it went even further and required the ancient Buddhist Shaolin
Temple to raise the CCP flag.

Social Movement Tactic

Citizens in democracies who notice this trend can feel powerless in

response. But there are tools at the disposal of empowered citizens
and social movements to encourage, complement, and accentuate
measures against the CCP taken by our democratic governments.
These tools include consumer boycotts and protests at Chinese
embassies, for example.

Citizen action is essential. Citizens can encourage politicians in

democracies to do the right thing when those politicians might
otherwise respond to pro-CCP interests.

But there is an additional social movement tactic that could take the
fight to our home court and powerfully communicate the world’s
criticism. That tool is boycotts of China’s nationalist symbols, most
importantly its flag.

Until China adheres to global norms of democracy, peace, human

rights, and international law, people globally who value democracy
should encourage city, state, national, and international bodies to
boycott China’s flag. It’s yellow stars and red
background symbolize communism, the Han race, and Mao’s division
of society into the only four classes he truly accepted: the proletariat,
peasants, petty bourgeoisie, and patriotic capitalists.
The rest of the population had no apparent utility to the CCP, and
could be eliminated or “reeducated.”

The CCP’s failed authoritarian communism, racism, and regrettable

history of violence and death — including 30 million dead during a
1959-1961 famine — should not be honored by allowing a CCP flag
to fly within view of democratic soil.