The news from Beijing is grim but predictable. Two leaders of an underground Christian church have been detained, their congregations scattered. This is not an isolated incident but a pattern. The Chinese Communist Party views any autonomous religious organisation as a threat to its monopoly on power. For those of us in the City, it is a reminder that when the state controls the pulpit, it also controls the ledger. The moral hazard here is clear: if we trade with a regime that suppresses conscience, we underwrite its repression.
But what should Britain do? The Foreign Office mumbles about dialogue, while our bond yields wobble at the thought of losing Chinese investment. This is cowardice dressed as pragmatism. We must defend persecuted Christians not as a gesture of charity but as a matter of national interest. A society that silences the church today will rig the markets tomorrow. Capital flight follows persecution. Investors know this. They are watching.
So let us be direct: call out the detention. Impose targeted sanctions. Or else we are complicit. The bottom line is that tyranny is never a good bet. Remember that when the next gilt auction comes around.
