Hypocritical Businesses Bow to China

Our companies tell us that they are supportive of justice.

“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” says former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a Nike ad.

“Speak for the people who may not be able to be heard,” says the NBA.

“Corporate PR hogwash,” says journalist Melissa Chen in my Video of the Week.

“Hogwash,” she says, because the NBA clearly does not want its employees to criticize injustice — if that injustice is in China.

Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted, “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”

He is doing well. China overthrows Hong Kong freedom.

China did not like to hear an NBA executive saying that. Chinese TV stopped showing Rockets matches. The NBA apparently then told their players and top offices to stop complaining. Morey deleted his tweet and instead tweeted that he “did not intend to cause any offense.”

The NBA itself also apologized to China, saying that they were “disappointed” by Morey’s “inappropriate” tweet. Lebron James called Morey “misinformed.” James Harden said, “We love China.”

“China is able to strong-arm these companies … into actually acquiescing with its ideology,” complains Chen.

This ideology can be quite grotesque. China has been accused of genocide by the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim minority in America and elsewhere.

China imprisons them in “reeducation camps.” Leaked satellite footage shows blindfolded men, with their hands tied behind their backs, in what looks like a concentration camp.

“They are forced into slave labor,” says Chen.

A handful of Uyghurs that escaped have claimed they were tortured.

But although the NBA runs ads that say, “Speak for the people who may not be able to be heard,” it clearly does not want its players, coaches or executives to say anything about Uyghur genocide.

Chamath Palihapitiya, a part-owner of the Golden State Warriors, was unusually honest when he said, “Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs. … We have a responsibility to take care of our own backyard first.”

Chen’s comment was taken to heart.

“Companies like Apple, Nike and Coca-Cola have part of their supply chain sourced from this region,” she responds. “In these areas, Uyghurs are forced to participate in slave labor.”

Hollywood also doesn’t seem to care. The movie “Mulan” was filmed in the same region where Uyghurs are tortured. In the credits, Disney gave “special thanks” to government departments in Xinjiang, where the abuse occurs.

“Fast and Furious 9″ actor John Cena, promoting his movie to people in Taiwan, said, “Taiwan is the first country that can watch F9.”

Was there anything wrong?

“He had the audacity to allude to the fact that Taiwan was a country,” says Chen, “rather than a territory owned by China.”

I don’t know what China said to Cena or Universal Pictures, but soon Cena was on Chinese social media, groveling to China, saying “sorry” over and over. “I have made a mistake. … I love the Chinese people and have great respect for them. … I made a mistake,” he pleaded.

Chen describes it as pathetic. “I think the Chinese government actually takes a lot of pleasure knowing that they can actually strong-arm individuals and companies into capitulation to its own political ideology.”

Only one NBA player has the courage to expose the NBA’s hypocrisy. It is Boston Celtic Enes Kanter Freedom. He takes issue with players who do not speak up for fear of losing Chinese business agreements.

“Human rights and basic rights is way more important than any deal you can offer,” he says. He loses lucrative shoe contracts because he sometimes displays messages on his shoes, like “Free Tibet” and “Stand With Taiwan.” He denounces Chinese Uyghur oppression.

China will not broadcast Celtics games.

Freedom is not afraid to raise his voice, calling out hypocrites, such as Nike. Nike supports social justice causes in America, but remains silent on China’s human rights violations.

The press rarely points out the hypocrisy, says Chen, because “this exposes the woke edifice of the NBA.”

Businesses exist to make profits. Are we to expect them not to look at the Chinese market with suspicion?

“Absolutely,” says Chen. “The least we can do is to take stock of their cowardice and recognize that what they’re participating in is bald-faced hypocrisy.”

John Stossel is creator of Stossel TV and author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”