NBA China Ban 2021/22: Boston Celtics’ center Enes Kanter sparks China backlash again after comments on Tibet, Xi- Boston Celtics’ center has enraged tensions again in the Chinese social media as his name appeared to be blocked on the popular Weibo messaging after he criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping and his treatment of Tibet. Kanter has a history of activism against his country Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan. He tweeted a two-minute video of himself asking and expressing support for Tibet and wearing a T-shirt with an image of Dalai Lama.
Dear Brutal Dictator XI JINPING and the Chinese Government
Tibet belongs to the Tibetan people!#FreeTibet pic.twitter.com/To4qWMXK56
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 20, 2021
“I’m here to add my voice and speak out about what is happening in Tibet. Under the Chinese government’s brutal rule, Tibetan people’s basic rights and freedoms are non-existent,” Kanter said in the video posted on Wednesday in U.S. time, along with text describing Xi as a “brutal dictator.”
NBA China Ban 2021/22: Boston Celtics’ center Enes Kanter sparks China backlash again after comments on Tibet, Xi
Furthermore, he posted similar messages on Instagram. Against the New York Knicks, Kanter wore shoes embellished with the phrase “Free Tibet” made by Baidiucao, a dissident China-born cartoonist and artist based in Australia.
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NBA China Ban: China’s Tencent refused to show games on its platform
China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd refused to show highlights from the Celtics’ Wednesday double OT loss to the New York Knicks on its sports platform. There was a written timeline of the game available. Celtics games were pulled from the Chinese internet, the New York Times reported.
Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing on Thursday that Kanter was “trying to get attention” and that his remarks “were not worth refuting. We will never accept those attacks to discredit Tibet’s development and progress,” he said.
NBA China Ban: Ex-Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s controversy
Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s comments in care of the democracy movement in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong indicated state broadcaster CCTV to discontinue broadcasting NBA games and e-commerce merchants to withdraw listings for Rockets merchandise.
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨
Adam Silver: China requested Daryl Morey’s firing; We said “No Chance”#NBA #NBATwitter #TheJump pic.twitter.com/7iiUYPr1e5
— 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣’ 𝙉𝘽𝘼 🗣️ (@_Talkin_NBA) October 17, 2019
The tweet also followed the Wednesday arrival of the Olympic torch in Beijing, whose scheduled hosting of the Winter Games in February 2022 has prompted calls for boycotts over Chinese treatment of Tibet, Uyghur Muslims, and Hong Kong.
NBA China Ban 2021/22: Boston Celtics’ center Enes Kanter sparks China backlash again after comments on Tibet, Xi
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