Although I agree with most of the analysis, I was dismayed at reading the statement about "1936-39, when the country was torn apart by a civil war triggered by Catalan and Basque separatism." (1) The war was triggered by the insurrection of a subset of military officers. (2) There were neither Catalan nor Basque separatists of any import at the time. (The Catalan government 'insurrection' of October 1934, parallel to the insurrection of Asturian miners, had most to do with Left-Right disagreements.) And The Catalan and Basque nationalist parties were cooperating with the legitimate government of the republic all the time by 1936.

Having read Pompeo's speech, I still don't see its Evangelical foundations anywhere. Sachs' article is rather disconcerting, not to say biased, in that regard. I'm all against any kind of violent confrontation. But we should ask China to respect the fundamental human rights of its national minorities and, more generally, of its citizens.