By Ed Martin

Have you noticed how often Joe Biden refers to his Catholic faith? He does it a lot. And yet, his policy positions are at odds with this faith at nearly every turn. His newfound pro-choice position to oppose the Hyde Amendment’s ban on tax dollars for abortion is well known and clearly opposes Catholic teaching. But less noticed is how Biden’s defense of the Chinese communist government in light of its heinous human-rights abuses directly contradicts the principle of human dignity that is the heart of Catholic teaching.

These abuses by the Chinese regime are well known and include forced abortion, the genocide of the Uighur population, and the use of slave labor in manufacturing, just to name a few of the most egregious. Joe Biden said that he “understood” China’s one-child policy, which resulted in forced abortions and infanticides of unimaginable proportions — hundreds of millions of innocent lives. Joe Biden has also opposed trade restrictions against China, which would have at least been a step toward holding the Chinese government accountable for its crimes. Throughout his decades-long career in Washington, Joe Biden has consistently turned a blind eye to the evils committed against innocent Chinese people by their own government, demonstrating a distressing ambivalence toward the unborn, the vulnerable, and the marginalized.

It’s bad enough for the Chinese to suffer, but Biden’s support of China hurts American citizens, as well. Joe Biden voted to give China “most favored nation” trade status and supported China’s entry into the World Trade Organization — a disastrous decision that singlehandedly led to the loss of an estimated 3.4 million American jobs. Now he wants America to rejoin the World Health Organization, which is in the pocket of the Chinese government and was complicit in China’s efforts to cover up the initial outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Contrast this record toward China with the record of President Trump: From day one, Trump has always been extremely tough on our top rival and is unafraid to call out China’s malpractice with harsh words and decisive actions.

The president’s strategic counter-tariffs, for instance, sent China an unmistakable message that the U.S. would no longer tolerate its malfeasance, and reminding the world that economic reliance on cheap Chinese manufacturing is neither inevitable nor permanent. The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which just took effect, will further decrease our economic reliance on China and bring jobs back home to America — while also reducing demand for China’s exploitative slave-labor practices.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is cranking up the pressure on China over its abominable treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority. China’s estimated one million Uighurs are still subject to the heinous one-child policy, which the Chinese government enforces through forced abortions and forced sterilizations — practices that are repugnant to the concept of human dignity. Uighurs are also confined to concentration camps, where they are subjected to indoctrination and slavery. Using a variety of legal authorities, including the Magnitsky Act, the Trump administration has been imposing sanctions on Chinese government officials and businesses that are complicit in the brutalization of the Uighurs.

President Trump cares about holding China accountable for its terrible human-rights abuses and about protecting American jobs and American autonomy. Joe Biden’s failure to do the same reveals the true depth of his apathy when it comes to respecting and upholding the dignity of every human life.

Ed Martin is the president of the Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund.