Enes Kanter, who is NBA star has doubled-down on the criticism he made of China and has called on Nike to do better at standing up and fighting against injustice in the country. The Boston Celtics center, which treats minorities in China, wore customised shoes in his team’s win who played against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday. The customised shoes had “Modern Day Slavery” and “No More Excuses” written on them.
On Monday, a video was posted by him on his Twitter handle, where he pointed out Nike for its silence on injustice in China.
“Nike remains vocal about injustice here in America, but when it comes to China, Nike remains silent,” said Kanter, in a post which used the hashtags #HypocriteNike and #EndUyghurForcedLabor.
“You do not address police brutality in China, you do not speak about discrimination against the LGBTQ community, you do not say a word about the oppression of minorities in China, you are scared to speak up.”
Kanter’s criticism focused on the Uyghur community’s sense of injustice; the US State Department estimates that up to two million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been detained in Xinjiang internment camps since 2017.
An ex-detective turned whistleblower revealed rare details on what he described as a systematic campaign of torture against ethnic Uyghurs in the region’s detention camp system in a three-hour interview with CNN conducted in Europe, where he is now in exile.
China has denied allegations of human rights violations, claiming that the centers are needed to combat religious extremism and terrorism.
“Who makes your shoes in China? Do you even know?” Kanter added, the footwear industry was “tainted” by the enforced labor.
“There are so many forced labor factories in China. For instance, Uyghur forced labor, it is modern day slavery, and it is happening right now in China.
“Millions of Uyghurs are currently detained, sold and assigned to work at forced labor camps, prisons and factories across the country. They are under constant surveillance, with long working hours and poor living conditions. Don’t forget, every time you put those shoes on your feet, or you put that t-shirt on your back, there are so many tears and so much oppression and so much blood behind it all.”
