(ChinaAid, Midland, TX) Before the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, ChinaAid and a coalition of human rights groups condemned the games and the corporations that supported them. You can find the full statement below:
For too long, multinational corporations have willingly turned a blind eye to China’s myriad atrocities, putting profits over principle as the CCP undermines the rule of law and commits human rights abuses and genocide. Well-known companies such as Apple, BMW, Gap, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen have been complicit in profiting from relationships with suppliers and government agencies implementing a massive, forced labor program for Uyghurs.
Despite international condemnation of China’s actions, Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Intel, Visa, and Procter & Gamble have each committed roughly $100 million to sponsor the Winter Games, an expense they justify as a massive, global advertising opportunity. In reality, by sponsoring China’s genocide games, these multinational corporations are essentially handing hundreds of millions of dollars to China’s repressive regime — with no questions asked.
Similarly, Wall Street has profited enormously by helping the CCP exploit U.S. capital markets and tens of millions of American investors. By funneling U.S. investment to China, companies like BlackRock and MSCI aiding and abetting companies that are complicit in the CCP’s human rights abuses and genocide. All of these investments give Beijing ample funding to continue its surveillance, repression, and genocide of Uyghurs; undermine and degrade internationally recognized human rights throughout the country; destroy the culture and freedoms of Tibet; undermine the society of Hong Kong; and more.
Allowing the genocide games to move forward in China was a serious mistake, but it is not too late to speak up and hold accountable those who wrongly allowed Beijing to hold them. Multinational corporations that claim to support democratic values and the ideals of which the United States was founded on should not be supporting China’s human rights violations.