Madison Cawthorn at the RNC: 'Kneel Before God but Stand for Our Flag'; Chen Guangcheng: The CCP 'Is an Enemy of Humanity' (August 26, 2020)

Madison Cawthorn opened his Republican National Convention speech with the story of his own survival. “At 18, I was in a horrific car accident that left me paralyzed from the waist down. Instantly, my hopes and dreams were seemingly destroyed. I was given a one percent chance of surviving,” Cawthorn said, according to his remarks as prepared, released by the Trump campaign for the convention’s third night on Aug. 26, 2020 [1].

“Thanks to the power of prayer, a loving community, and skilled doctors, I made it. It took me over a year to recover,” he said [1].

The video above shows the speeches of Madison Cawthorn and Chen Guangcheng at the 2020 Republican National Convention. Quotes are from the remarks as prepared, published by the American Presidency Project, and from the State Department and the White House [1][2][3].

”I See You. I Hear You.”

Cawthorn, then running for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, spoke to people who feel left behind. “My accident gave me new eyes to see, and new ears to hear. God protected my mind and my ability to speak. I say to people who feel forgotten, ignored, and invisible: I see you. I hear you,” he said [1].

“While the radical left wants to dismantle, defund, and destroy, Republicans, under President Trump’s leadership, want to rebuild, restore and renew,” Cawthorn said [1].

“I just turned 25. When I’m elected this November, I’ll be the youngest member of Congress in over 200 years. If you don’t think young people can change the world, then you don’t know American history,” he said [1].

“Yet, today political forces want to usher in the digital dark ages – a time of information without wisdom and tribalism without truth,” Cawthorn said. “MLK’s dream is our dream - - for all Americans to be judged solely on their character.” [1]

“Kneel Before God but Stand for Our Flag”

Cawthorn called for free speech. “We are committed to building a new town square. It welcomes all ideas and people. Here, we will have freedom of speech, not freedom from speech,” he said [1].

“In this new town square, you don’t have to apologize for your beliefs or cower to a mob. You can kneel before God but stand for our flag,” Cawthorn said [1].

“I say to Americans who love our country – young and old – be a radical for freedom. Be a radical for liberty. Be a radical for our republic,” he said [1].

”An Enemy of Humanity”

Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng followed. “When I spoke out against China’s ‘one child’ policy and other injustices, I was persecuted, beaten, and put under house arrest by the government. In April, 2012, I escaped and was given shelter in the American embassy in Beijing,” Chen said [1].

“The Chinese Communist Party is an enemy of humanity. It is terrorizing its own people and it is threatening the well-being of the world,” he said [1].

“In China, expressing beliefs or ideas not approved by the CCP - religion, democracy, human rights - can lead to prison. The nation lives under mass surveillance and censorship,” Chen said [1].

“Outside its borders, the CCP ignores international treaties and norms, whether it is violating the rights of Hong Kong, cheating on trade deals, threatening Taiwan, or exploiting the World Health Organization,” he said [1].

“Countless activists have disappeared or are under house arrest. Just consider the sad plight of the Uyghurs in concentration camps,” Chen said [1].

”Including Obama and Biden”

Chen blamed past presidents for going easy on Beijing. “The coronavirus pandemic, originating in China—and covered up by the CCP—has caused mass death and social upheaval around the world,” he said [1].

“The policy of appeasement of former administrations—including Obama and Biden—has allowed the CCP to infiltrate and corrode different aspects of the global community,” Chen said [1].

“President Trump has led on this and we need the other countries to join him in this fight. A fight for our future,” he said. “We need to support, vote, and fight for President Trump … for the sake of the world.” [1]

By the Numbers

1%: the chance of surviving Cawthorn said doctors gave him [1].
25: Cawthorn’s age at the convention [1].
2012: the year Chen escaped to the U.S. embassy in Beijing [1].
1 million+: civilians the State Department said China had imprisoned in Xinjiang [2].

What Happened Next

The Trump administration called it genocide. On Jan. 19, 2021, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced: “In addition, after careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that the PRC, under the direction and control of the CCP, has committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.” [2]

Pompeo also found crimes against humanity, including “the arbitrary imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty of more than one million civilians.” [2]

Pompeo wrote that party officials had told the faithful “you can’t uproot all the weeds hidden among the crops in the field one-by-one; you need to spray chemicals to kill them all.” [2]

The White House changed its answer on COVID. Under President Trump, the White House now says: “A lab-related incident involving gain-of-function research is the most likely origin of COVID-19.” [3]

For more from the 2020 convention, see HYGO News’ page on Nick Sandmann and Tiffany Trump. For Biden on China’s spy balloon in 2023, see the page on June 17, 2023.