Boston Celtics center and outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party, Enes Kanter Freedom, has become front and center of the movement to hold China accountable for its human rights abuses.
In a lengthy interview with the Daily Caller, Freedom kicked off the conversation by reacting to the move by universities across Hong Kong to remove statues and memorials commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in which the Chinese government is estimated to have killed 10,000 pro-democracy activists in 1989.
As reported by The Post Millennial in December, Chinese authorities removed the so-called "Pillar of Shame" monument commemorating the event.
"What’s happening over there is heartbreaking, and we need to do whatever we can to raise awareness," said the Celtics player.
Freedom then slammed athletes LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick along with woke capital corporations, which he dubbed "social justice companies" like Nike, which are quick to stand for Black Lives Matter and other social justice initiatives while ignoring Chinese human rights abuses.
He said "it doesn’t matter how much money is involved" because "while we’re talking right now there’s a genocide happening," referring to China’s imprisonment of over a million Muslim Uyghurs in detention camps across the northwestern province of Xinjiang.
"I’m not a Republican or a Democrat," explained Freedom. "I don’t have a side. I don’t do politics; I do human rights."
He said he believes that his message could be a unifying force in America’s divided political landscape. "There’s no right, left, east, west in human rights, there is only one human race, and we need to stand up for those innocent people."
Freedom, who says that he intends to reach as many people as possible with his message, has spoken about the issue on both CNN and CNBC. He said it was sad that conservative media, which focused on his name change from Enes Kanter to Enes Kanter Freedom, said that it was sad that these outlets sometimes ignored his message of China’s human rights violations.
"If they are going to mention my last name, please mention all of the human rights violations that are happening not just in Turkey in my home country but all over the world," he said.
Kanter likewise expressed frustration at Democrat politicians, whom he said have no problem taking a public stance on social justice issues in the west but not about Chinese human rights abuses.
Freedom recalled that the Biden administration "promised that they were going to prioritize human rights" "not just in America but all over the world." Freedom stated that when America fails, it "breaks [his] heart," but added he is "still waiting" and "still hopeful" for the Biden to take action against human rights abuses on the world stage.
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