Pence admonishes Nike, NBA in China dispute over protests
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday sharply criticized U.S. companies for “kowtowing” to China’s restrictions on free speech, taking special aim at Nike and the National Basketball Association for “losing their voices” in a dispute with Beijing this month over pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
In remarks at the Wilson Center, a prominent Washington think tank, Pence issued a wide-ranging set of criticisms of Beijing’s predatory trade practices, jailing of Muslim minorities and military expansionism. In far stronger terms than President Donald Trump has done, Pence also expressed solidarity with the protesters in Hong Kong, declaring they “have the prayers and admiration of millions of Americans.”
But Pence also took time to upbraid U.S. businesses for compromising American values as a cost of doing business in China by acceding to Beijing’s demand that they refrain from speaking out on political and social issues.
In doing so, he said, China is “seeking to export censorship, the hallmark of its regime.”
“By exploiting corporate greed, Beijing is attempting to influence American public opinion in an attempt to influence public opinion, coercing corporate America,” Pence said. Those corporations follow the “lure of China’s money by muzzling not only criticism of China’s Communist Party but even affirmative expression of American values.”
Turning an eye toward Nike and the NBA, he chastised their response to Chinese pressure to denounce a tweet this month from Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey expressing support for the demonstrators Hong Kong.
Trump has feuded with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick, a Nike pitchman, and with NBA superstars LeBron James and Steph Curry over racial issues, to which Pence appeared to allude obliquely.
“Nike promotes itself as a social justice champion, but when it comes to Hong Kong, it prefers checking its social conscience at the door,” Pence said, noting reports that the company had pulled Rockets’ merchandise from stores in China.
Of the NBA, he said some of the “biggest players and owners, who routinely exercise their freedom to criticize this country, lose their voices when it comes to the freedom and rights of the people of China.
“In siding with the Chinese Communist Party and silencing free speech, the NBA is acting like a wholly owned subsidiary of that authoritarian regime,” he said.
NBA officials did respond to a request comment.
This month, Trump also criticized the NBA for its handling of the controversy, though the president did not condemn China for its pressure on the league.
A business community in not for leader in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity to frankly assess Pence’s remarks, said, “The problem with Pence doing this is not a lot of what Trump is saying or doing is really reinforcing the notion around the world that the U.S. stands for democracy and human rights and all the rest.”
This business leader noted that Trump has expressed solidarity with some authoritarian leaders and feuded with U.S. allies.
“He spends most of his time hobnobbing with other authoritarians so it rings a little hollow when you hear it from Pence,” the business community leader said.
Pence’s remarks came after months of deliberations within the administration over the timing and tone of his China address.
White House officials had first begun scheduling the address in early June, but it was delayed over fears among some Trump aides that it could adversely affect the administration’s trade negotiations with Beijing.
Last week, Trump announced a partial trade deal with China that he said would build trust to work toward a more sweeping agreement, but the “phase one” pact has yet to be agreed to in writing.