[Epoch Times, January 20, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Lin Yan comprehensive report) American NBA player Yao Ming talks about Peng Shuai and the Beijing Games”>Enes Kanter Freedom responded to the invitation of former NBA player Yao Ming to visit China on Wednesday (January 19), he said, I want to visit the real China, “Can I go to the labor camps and see”.
Kanter, a 29-year-old player for the Boston Celtics, is one of the few top international athletes who bluntly criticized the “brutal dictatorship” of the Beijing regime and spoke out for human rights in China.
In a recent interview, Kanter criticized Beijing for using “money to buy silence” and called on athletes not to go to the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Former NBA player and current chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association Yao Ming responded to Kanter’s remarks at a press conference on Monday (17th), saying: “I don’t know what Kanter’s motivation or position is, so I’m not necessarily qualified to comment.”
The Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, who played for the Houston Rockets, said: “Everyone has different (information) channels, which may lead to different opinions.
“If there is a chance, I would like to invite Kanter to come to China to see … he may have a more comprehensive understanding of us (China).”
Kanter responded to Yao Ming’s invitation to visit China in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. “I want to say thank you to Yao Ming…” Kanter said. “Actually, I do want to go to China and see everything with my own eyes.”
“But on this trip, I want to ask Yao Ming if I can visit the labor camp?”
He added: “I don’t need the Chinese narrative, I don’t want to listen to propaganda. I do want to see the real China and show the world what’s going on. So, I’ll definitely take his offer.”
Kanter recently posted outspoken criticism of the CCP’s policies on Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan on his personal social media. He will officially change his surname to “Freedom” in November 2021.
The U.S. State Department estimates that more than 2 million Uighurs and other ethnic minorities have been held in various “re-education camps” in Xinjiang since 2017, and Chinese authorities have repeatedly denied allegations of human rights abuses.
Kanter’s bold criticism of the Chinese Communist Party caused a backlash in China. The Celtics’ game was pulled by Chinese video streaming site Tencent, and Beijing authorities named Kanter’s remarks.
“I want everyone to know that the Chinese Communist Party does not represent the core Olympic spirit — excellence, friendship and respect,” Kanter said. “They are a brutal dictatorship. They threaten freedom, they don’t respect human rights.”
Earlier this week, NBA Golden State Warriors owner Chamath Palihapitiya said on a podcast that “nobody cares what happened to the Uighurs in Xinjiang” and that “it’s a good thing you care. , but the rest of us don’t care.”
Amid the outcry on the Internet, the Golden State Warriors subsequently issued a statement cutting ties with Pariapitia. “As a limited investor with no involvement in the day-to-day operations of the Warriors, Pariapitia does not speak for our team, and his views certainly do not reflect our team’s,” Golden State Warriors’ official Twitter account read. view.”
Kanter said Palihapitiya’s remarks were “unbelievable” and “it’s sad, I’m so ashamed of him”.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#
