In the midst of the Daryl Morey-China-Hong Kong controversy, Nets owner Joe Tsai made the unbelievable claim that 1.4 billion Chinese citizens agree on… well, anything.
Specifically, Tsai said they all “stand united when it comes to the territorial integrity of China and the country’s sovereignty over her homeland.” That framing matched the Chinese government, which strong-armed Hong Kong protesters (who were trying to maintain and expand their freedoms). Tsai has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Celtics center Enes Kanter – who called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” and called out LeBron James and Nike for their stances on China – zeroed in on Tsai with Boston playing the Nets last night.
Kanter:
The owner of @brooklynNets@joetsai1999 is a coward & puppet of the Chinese gov’t.
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) November 24, 2021
Being anti-CCP does NOT mean being anti-Asian
It's possible to #StopAsianHate & to stand up against the CCP
Human rights are not "western" values, they are UNIVERSAL values!
Spineless Joe Tsai
Kanter is right about one thing: Opposing the Chinese Communist Party is not anti-Asian. There is plenty of room to criticize the oppressive and authoritarian Chinese regime without being colored by bigotry.
There ought to be caution about calling Tsai a puppet, though. He can form his own beliefs without the Chinese government dictating his statements. He can also respond to Kanter if he chooses.
Kanter just wants that type of freedom expanded to Uyghurs, people in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tibet, and other people with dissenting views.