webfact Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Chinese state media slam U.S. basketball's NBA in free speech row People enter a flagship NBA store at the Wangfujing shopping street in Beijing, China October 8, 2019. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese state media on Wednesday accused the U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) of endorsing violence and peddling a "secessionist pipe dream" as a row escalates over comments by a leading team official in support of protests in Hong Kong. Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey apologised on Monday for a Twitter post over the weekend backing the Hong Kong protest. The comment, which was quickly deleted, sparked anger in China, and broadcasters, sportswear companies and sponsors said they would review their relationship with the league. The NBA initially described the anger over the message as "regrettable", but Commissioner Adam Silver told a news conference in Japan on Tuesday that it was not up to the NBA to regulate what players, employees and team owners said. On Wednesday, an editorial in the official English-language China Daily accused Silver of "brazenly endorsing Morey's secessionist-supporting tweet" and giving "a shot to the arms of the rioters of Hong Kong". It said, "If Silver thinks endorsing the indiscriminate violence the radical Hong Kong protesters are resorting to...is supporting freedom of expression, then he should think again." The protests were "a bid to liberate the city" and "a secessionist pipe-dream" peddled by demonstrators "to justify their summer hooliganism", it added. The state-owned Global Times tabloid accused Silver of caving in to political pressure, saying the NBA was treating the Chinese market with arrogant disregard. "Tweeting something offensive to the Chinese people before a series of NBA promotional activities in China only shows a lack of intellect, respect, and responsibility," it said. Chinese state television has already cancelled plans to air exhibition games played in China this week, saying in a statement that a country's sovereignty and social stability were "not within the scope of freedom of speech". China has accused Western governments of stirring up anti-Beijing sentiment in Hong Kong, which has been roiled by months of sometimes violent protest. (Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) -- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-09 Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegman Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Sometimes free speech can have a very high cost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zydeco Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 1 hour ago, pegman said: Sometimes free speech can have a very high cost And sometimes all that lucre gained from doing business in China has a cost, too. Quote The Chinese regime announced a new rule which requires residents to pass a facial recognition test in order to apply for an internet connection via smartphone or computer. https://www.theepochtimes.com/beijing-launches-new-rule-residents-must-pass-facial-recognition-test-to-surf-internet_3099181.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car720 Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 1 hour ago, pegman said: Sometimes free speech can have a very high cost but still less expensive than the alternative. I, personally, have no problem with these guys losing money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 I hope the NBA calls their bluff and withdraws from China. Enough is enough. They can bully their own but but caving on this is a really bad precedent. Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidermike007 Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 I thought Silver's position was courageous. It was the right decision, and the NBA should be commended for allowing it's players and coaches to speak their mind. China is a nasty player, a horrific government, and has heinous intentions. And they despise free speech. Let them go. Money will be lost, but the bully tactics are not working with the NBA so far. The Chicoms are a stain on humanity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedrogaz Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 We need some realism here. China will never allow Hong Kong to secede. The treaty signed in 1997 accepted China's sovereignty over Hong Kong.....sad but true. The protests started over an extradition bill and have morphed into a secession movement. There can only be one outcome and that is that China will enforce their rights and sovereignty....and likely many protesters will be killed. Personally I have little sympathy for those who will be killed or injured as they are ignoring the realities of life, and need to develop a pragmatic approach. China is liberalizing at a rapid rate, but they are doing it by evolution not revolution, which, in my opinion, is the correct way to do it. By the time China comes to exert fully sovereignty in 2047 (or whenever) China will be likely be more liberal than now. But hold off the protests until 2047. Also killed in injuring innocent people who do not support the protest is an ugly development, and turns the protesters into domestic terrorists. How do you thing the Americans would handle a protest like this? Or the UK? It would be ugly because in a binary choice like this, one side has to win. My message to the protesters is to grow up and be mature. Lose the stupid idealism and get pragmatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timendres Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 11 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said: China is liberalizing at a rapid rate, but they are doing it by evolution not revolution, which, in my opinion, is the correct way to do it. By the time China comes to exert fully sovereignty in 2047 (or whenever) China will be likely be more liberal than now. But hold off the protests until 2047. If the CCP is still in control, the words "liberal" and "freedom" will be erased from the Chinese language by 2047. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Nick Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Very astonishing how the "land of the free, home of the brave" and the spreaders of democracy worldwide, keep their tail between their legs, when it comes to ...well..freedom of speech and democracy hitting them in the wallet! Absolutely shameful behavior by the NBA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcut Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Pedrogaz said: We need some realism here. China will never allow Hong Kong to secede. The treaty signed in 1997 accepted China's sovereignty over Hong Kong.....sad but true. The protests started over an extradition bill and have morphed into a secession movement. There can only be one outcome and that is that China will enforce their rights and sovereignty....and likely many protesters will be killed. Personally I have little sympathy for those who will be killed or injured as they are ignoring the realities of life, and need to develop a pragmatic approach. China is liberalizing at a rapid rate, but they are doing it by evolution not revolution, which, in my opinion, is the correct way to do it. By the time China comes to exert fully sovereignty in 2047 (or whenever) China will be likely be more liberal than now. But hold off the protests until 2047. Also killed in injuring innocent people who do not support the protest is an ugly development, and turns the protesters into domestic terrorists. How do you thing the Americans would handle a protest like this? Or the UK? It would be ugly because in a binary choice like this, one side has to win. My message to the protesters is to grow up and be mature. Lose the stupid idealism and get pragmatic. My message is fight to the very end. Because, freedom is not free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavideol Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 9 hours ago, webfact said: The state-owned Global Times tabloid accused Silver of caving in to political pressure, saying the NBA was treating the Chinese market with arrogant disregard. "Tweeting something offensive to the Chinese people before a series of NBA promotional activities in China only shows a lack of intellect, respect, and responsibility," it said. they can't accept/understand that not everybody will bend to their arrogance/control.... thumbs up to the NBA manager & commissioner, free speech, free opinion is a right of democracy, Chinese don't (will never) understand our principles because they have none Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skytrooper70 Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 11 hours ago, Pedrogaz said: We need some realism here. China will never allow Hong Kong to secede. The treaty signed in 1997 accepted China's sovereignty over Hong Kong.....sad but true. The protests started over an extradition bill and have morphed into a secession movement. There can only be one outcome and that is that China will enforce their rights and sovereignty....and likely many protesters will be killed. Personally I have little sympathy for those who will be killed or injured as they are ignoring the realities of life, and need to develop a pragmatic approach. China is liberalizing at a rapid rate, but they are doing it by evolution not revolution, which, in my opinion, is the correct way to do it. By the time China comes to exert fully sovereignty in 2047 (or whenever) China will be likely be more liberal than now. But hold off the protests until 2047. Also killed in injuring innocent people who do not support the protest is an ugly development, and turns the protesters into domestic terrorists. How do you thing the Americans would handle a protest like this? Or the UK? It would be ugly because in a binary choice like this, one side has to win. My message to the protesters is to grow up and be mature. Lose the stupid idealism and get pragmatic. Did you update this, from some of your ancestors, who were part of the British royalists governing the American colonies, in 1775? Back then, what started, as a protest against tea taxes, morphed into a successful revolution for independence, against overwhelming odds, at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyboy2018 Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 11 hours ago, Pedrogaz said: We need some realism here. China will never allow Hong Kong to secede. The treaty signed in 1997 accepted China's sovereignty over Hong Kong.....sad but true. The protests started over an extradition bill and have morphed into a secession movement. There can only be one outcome and that is that China will enforce their rights and sovereignty....and likely many protesters will be killed. Personally I have little sympathy for those who will be killed or injured as they are ignoring the realities of life, and need to develop a pragmatic approach. China is liberalizing at a rapid rate, but they are doing it by evolution not revolution, which, in my opinion, is the correct way to do it. By the time China comes to exert fully sovereignty in 2047 (or whenever) China will be likely be more liberal than now. But hold off the protests until 2047. Also killed in injuring innocent people who do not support the protest is an ugly development, and turns the protesters into domestic terrorists. How do you thing the Americans would handle a protest like this? Or the UK? It would be ugly because in a binary choice like this, one side has to win. My message to the protesters is to grow up and be mature. Lose the stupid idealism and get pragmatic. The current dynasty is not moving towards liberalisation, democracy or freedom. Having murdered 30 million of their own they are now intent on enslaving one point eight billion of their own. This is not an issue of pragmatism, easy for dupes like you to preach, it is an issue of freedom of determination or death. What happened to the Tibetans, the Falon gong, what is happening to the Uighurs is murderous atrocities. That is no choice at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creasy Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Get over yourselves China. Trying to dictate to people and organisations in the USA to what they can say. FMD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenl Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 16 hours ago, spidermike007 said: I thought Silver's position was courageous. It was the right decision, and the NBA should be commended for allowing it's players and coaches to speak their mind. China is a nasty player, a horrific government, and has heinous intentions. And they despise free speech. Let them go. Money will be lost, but the bully tactics are not working with the NBA so far. The Chicoms are a stain on humanity. I would presume the NBA has a code of conduct, not allowing tweets like this one? Your derogatory comment is noted btw, no need at all for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin612 Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 Anything against Chinese politics is unacceptable for them, especially trade war is on the edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonbridgebrit Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 Look, let's get real here. If you are trying to sell your product to whatever people, yes, you have got the right to insult them, to offend them. But if you do that, well, you accept that they have got the right to not buy your stuff. Yes, it's their right to boycott you. So, Houston Rockets, it's your freedom of choice to antagonise China and to not sell your stuff to China. What's not going to happen is, is antagonising the Chinese and they're still going to buy your stuff. I personally think that China is one of the biggest markets in the world, it's best not to bite the hand that feeds you. But it is your choice to bite that hand. It's your choice to say "sod you China, we don't want your money". Is it sensible to say that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas J Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 22 hours ago, Jingthing said: I hope the NBA calls their bluff and withdraws from China. Enough is enough. They can bully their own but but caving on this is a really bad precedent. Well it is the difference between a liberal democracy and a conservative authoritarian government. The USA has to project all of the PC values. The leaders of China have no such fear of losing their power in the polls so they can enforce very rigid restrictions even if those impinge on the people of China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 So China is going to blackout all NBA stuff if the free speech continues? I think the people there are much more into the NBA than South Park. Yes China is a very authoritarian country but part of running a stable authoritarian country is placating the people with circuses. There is no replacement for the NBA in the basketball world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidermike007 Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 7 hours ago, stevenl said: I would presume the NBA has a code of conduct, not allowing tweets like this one? Your derogatory comment is noted btw, no need at all for that. Absolutely incorrect. You may be referring to the racist, slave mentality NFL owners. The NBA code of conduct allows a man to express his opinions and does not engage in repressive censoring. It is a MAN'S organization. A brilliant sport with a great organization backing it up. Silver could not have been more spot on. Every American should be proud of him for standing up to the obnoxious and heinous <snip>. I like the people. But despise their govt. The bottom line is that the Brits signed a treaty to return Hong Kong to China in another 20 years. Until then the Chinese govt. is supposed to allow them political independence. Something they are NOT doing. Typical of them. Carrie Lam is a stooge. The people do not want to have anything to do with that grotesquely corrupt govt. And sorry to offend your sensibilities, but I do not do PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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