# data[].attributes.headline
Enes Kanter Freedom- Human Rights Advocate

# data[].attributes.subject
Enes Kanter Freedom- Human Rights Advocate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Although he had been a member of the Boston Celtics earlier this year, veteran center Enes Kanter Freedom was not wearing the team's signature green uniform as the National Basketball Association playoffs began in April.

Traded to the Houston Rockets in February, Kanter (a native of Turkey, he added "Freedom" to his name after becoming an American citizen last year) was unceremoniously waived by his new team, which he believes was retaliation for speaking out about human rights abuses in China.

Now he has turned his focus entirely to activism, speaking out against Beijing's alleged crimes, in particular the communist regime's treatment of the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority, which has been called genocidal. He has also lambasted American companies that use Uyghur forced labor to make their goods, even as they espouse progressive views at home.

And he sees the alarming images of the coronavirus lockdowns in Shanghai and elsewhere as vindication of his view that China's power elite does not care about ordinary people.

"[It's] reassuring to see the world is finally opening their eyes to the human rights violations," Kanter Freedom told Yahoo News. "I've been saying this is what the communist rulers in Beijing are really doing, but the world is only now starting to shed a small amount of light on the issues at hand."

His one-man crusade against China started last fall, when he showed up to the Celtics' season opener against the New York Knicks in custom-made sneakers sure to provoke Beijing with their message: "Free Tibet." After the game, Kanter Freedom took to social media, lambasting Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "brutal dictator " for his unwillingness to grant more freedom to Tibet.

Chinese broadcaster Tencent, which had signed a $1.5 billion deal with the league, responded quickly by announcing it would not show Celtics games during the 2021-22 season.

Four days later, Kanter Freedom took to the court against the Charlotte Hornets with a new message emblazoned on his size 16 sneakers: "Made with slave labor," it said in large black letters, identifying "Hypocrite Nike" as the culprit. Red paint simulated splashes of blood.

Nike is one of nearly 100 Western companies alleged to have used Uyghur slave labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (the corporation denies the charge). The athletic gear company has a $1 billion licensing deal with the NBA, whose China operations are worth an estimated $5 billion, with more NBA fans there (500 million) than people, fans or not, in the United States.

In other words, Kanter Freedom was attacking a nexus of politics, commerce, sports and human rights. And he kept doing it, figuring that the same league that had supported his criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would similarly endorse his anti-China protests.

Instead, he said he found NBA Commissioner Adam Silver elusive and unsupportive, more concerned with profit than with adhering to the moral positions the league purportedly embraced.

The league denies Kanter Freedom's accusations. "We have always supported and will continue to support every member of the NBA family, including Enes Freedom, expressing their personal views on social and political issues," NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Yahoo News.

Kanter Freedom continued his footwear provocations throughout the fall.

"No Beijing 2022," one pair of sneakers read, protesting the Winter Olympics about to be held there.

"Taiwan belongs to the Taiwanese people."

His criticism came amid a less-than-stellar performance on the court. Kanter Freedom was having a middling season, his body starting to show the wear of a decade of professional basketball.

In February, Boston traded Kanter Freedom to Houston, which promptly waived him, leading to speculation that he would never play basketball in the United States again. Although he maintains that his lack of a new contract is political, others insist that comparisons to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is unable to find a job after deciding to kneel for the national anthem, are not accurate.

"I don't think he won't get a job because of anything he's said or done," one NBA team executive said. "I think he just doesn't guard, and the game is changing. He plays a lot older than he really is."

For the first time since 2014, Kanter Freedom was not playing in the postseason. He has, instead, become an increasingly political figure, expanding his activism to a number of causes. He was recently in New York, attending a book party for American financier and Vladimir Putin foe Bill Browder. As the Celtics faced the New York Nets in the playoffs' first round, he was in Washington, D.C., for the White House Correspondents' Association gala, at one point posing for a photograph with White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Instead of trying to shut down Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets - the Celtics' first-round playoff draw - he met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Blinken's predecessor, Mike Pompeo, as well as with CIA Director William Burns. Encouraged by Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, he pleaded with the billionaire to buy the NBA as well.

The Nets would have presented Kanter Freedom with an especially compelling target. Team owner Joseph Tsai is close to China's political ruling class and has been deemed "the NBA's unofficial spokesman for China's government." Last year, Kanter Freedom called him a puppet of Beijing. This year, he had to watch Tsai's squad suffer a 4-0 sweep at the hands of Boston on television.

If the Celtics do win it all, and custom holds, he will get a championship ring. But it may not matter all that much, given how distant his NBA career suddenly seems. "Activism is, like, the No. 1 thing for me right now," he says. "There are bigger things than basketball."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Enes Kanter Freedom went from NBA athlete to human rights activist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Traded to the Houston Rockets in February, veteran center Enes Kanter Freedom was unceremoniously waived by his new team, which he believes was retaliation for speaking out about human rights abuses in China. Now he has turned his focus entirely to activism.

# data[].attributes.headline
Brands Benefitting from Uyghur Slave Labor

# data[].attributes.subject
Brands Benefitting from Uyghur Slave Labor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
LAIXI, CHINA - JANUARY 8, 2020: The fences along the side of the Qingdao Taekwang Shoes Co. factory ... [+]
The Washington Post via Getty Images

Nike, Adidas, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung are among 83 multinationals that have been linked to forced labor by Uighurs in factories across China, according to a new study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). According to the researchers, Uighurs, a persecuted ethnic minority from China's western Xinjiang region, have been funneled to work in factories in other provinces under conditions "that strongly suggest forced labour."

The report estimates that more than 80,000 Uighurs were transferred to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019. The period coincides with China's campaign of mass internment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, which the government says is needed to root out terrorism and separatism. Some Uighurs have allegedly been placed in these factories straight from the internment camps in Xinjiang, where experts estimate more than 1.5 million members of ethnic minorities are being held.

Although journalists have in the past linked Western companies to forced Uighur labor, this is the first time the problem is made apparent on such a large scale, enveloping factories and supply chains across the country. The 83 foreign and Chinese companies that ASPI has identified as directly or indirectly benefiting from the potentially abusive transfer programs for Uighurs include clothing brands such as Adidas, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and Uniqlo; carmakers such as BMW, General Motors, Jaguar and Mercedes Benz; and tech giants such as Apple, Google, Huawei and Microsoft.

Uighurs' placement in factories outside Xinjiang has been conducted under a central government policy known as "Xinjiang Aid." Factory bosses receive cash compensations for each Uighur worker they employ. Some companies have even advertised their ability to supply Uighur workers through online bookings. One such ad, claiming to be able to supply 1,000 Uighur workers aged 16 to 18 years, read: "The advantages of Xinjiang workers are: semi-military style management, can withstand hardship, no loss of personnel ... Minimum order 100 workers!"

Although state media are claiming Uighurs are being compensated for their work, the ASPI researchers found they live in segregated dormitories, are unable to go home, and they undergo Mandarin and ideological training outside working hours, similarly to Uighurs in the internment camps.

In one case, a batch of "graduates" from a so-called vocational training center in south Xinjiang were transferred directly to a factory in the eastern Anhui province, according to a government report. The factory, Haoyuanpeng Clothing Manufacturing Co. Ltd, lists Fila, Adidas, Puma and Nike among its clients. Xinjiang workers have also been placed in factories that are part of Apple's supply chains, including a plant in Guangzhou visited by Apple CEO Tim Cook in December 2017.

Some brands including Adidas, Bosch and Panasonic told ASPI they had no direct contractual relationships with the suppliers indicated in the report, but no one could rule out a link further down their supply chain.

"This situation poses new risks-reputational and legal-for companies and consumers purchasing goods from China, as products made in any part of the country, not just in Xinjiang, may have passed through the hands of forced labourers," the authors said.

They added: "The tainted global supply chain that results from these practices means that it is now difficult to guarantee that products manufactured in China are free from forced labour."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Study Links Nike, Adidas And Apple To Forced Uighur Labor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nike, Adidas, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung are among 83 multinationals that have been linked to forced labor by Uighurs in factories across China, according to a new study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).

# data[].attributes.headline
Uyghur Slave Labor  Apple Computer Supplier

# data[].attributes.subject
Uyghur Slave Labor  Apple Computer Supplier

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Apple suppliers linked to Uyghur forced labor in new report

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Apple says it “found no evidence of forced labor.”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A number of companies have been linked to labor forced on Uighur Muslims by the Chinese government, according to multiple reports.

The Washington Post found that Apple supplier Lens Technology uses Uighur workers in its factories, according to documents obtained by the Tech Transparency Project.

Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Gap, Calvin Klein, H&M, L.L.Bean, Lacoste, Nike, and many other brands are "potentially directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through abusive labour transfer programs as recently as 2019," according to a report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

A number of companies and brands have been linked to labor forced on Uighur Muslims by the Chinese government, according to multiple reports.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Apple supplier Lens Technology uses Uighur workers in its factories, according to documents obtained by the Tech Transparency Project. These workers were transferred from labor camps in the Xinjiang region of western China, WaPo reported. (RELATED: Pompeo Demands China End 'Horrific' And 'Dehumanizing' Forced Abortions, Sterilizations Of Uighurs)

Apple, which has said that it is committed to donating to organizations that "challenge racial injustice and mass incarceration," is not the only company to come under scrutiny for its links to slave labor. In a spring 2020 report titled "Uyghurs For Sale," the Australian Strategic Policy Institute found that at least 83 popular, household-name brands are "potentially directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through abusive labour transfer programs as recently as 2019."

The report listed popular clothing companies Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Gap, Calvin Klein, H&M, L.L.Bean, Lacoste, Nike, The North Face, Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, Skechers, Tommy Hilfiger, Zara, and Victorias Secret, as well as General Motors, Goertek, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagon, and more. Many of these companies prolifically spoke out against racial injustice following the death of George Floyd in May. (RELATED: DHS Blocks Cotton Imports From Chinese Slave Labor Camps From Entering US)

"This report estimates that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps," a summary of the report said. "The estimated figure is conservative and the actual figure is likely to be far higher."

"In factories far away from home, they typically live in segregated dormitories, undergo organised Mandarin and ideological training outside working hours, are subject to constant surveillance, and are forbidden from participating in religious observances," the report summary continued. "Numerous sources, including government documents, show that transferred workers are assigned minders and have limited freedom of movement."

Several major companies have reportedly fought efforts to end the practice of forced labor - specifically the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which passed the House by a vote of 403-6 in September.

Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple, and other corporations fought to weaken the bill's language, the New York Times reported in late November, arguing that the bill would harm the supply chains they rely on in China. (RELATED:Report: Apple Supplier Allegedly Uses Forced Chinese Labor To Produce iPhone Screens)

Coca-Cola and Nike both pushed back on the NYT report in statements to the Daily Caller, arguing that they did not lobby against the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act or source products from Xinjiang.

Apple, which has said that it is is committed to donating to organizations that "challenge racial injustice and mass incarceration," has protested that it rigorously audits companies in its supply chain to make sure that Apple's products aren't derived from forced labor, saying in a statement to WaPo that "Apple has zero tolerance for forced labor."

"Looking for the presence of forced labor is part of every supplier assessment we conduct, including surprise audits," spokesman Josh Rosenstock told Apple.

"Any violation of our policies has immediate consequences, including possible business termination. As always, our focus is on making sure everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and we will continue doing all we can to protect workers in our supply chain," Rosenstock added.

Coca-Cola has frequently advocated against racism and discrimination in the U.S. In June remarks, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincy said he was "outraged, sad, frustrated, angry" over the death of George Floyd and promised that the company stands "with those seeking justice and equality."

Nike has also spoken out against racism in the U.S., particularly in a May 2020 ad that urged viewers "For once, don't do it. Don't pretend there's not a problem in America. Don't turn your back on racism. Don't accept innocent lives being taken from us."

"Nike has a long history of standing against bigotry, hatred and inequality in all forms," a Nike spokeswoman said in a May statement. "We hope that by sharing this film we can serve as a catalyst to inspire action against a deep issue in our society and encourage people to help shape a better future."

An investigation by the Associated Press published in June found that the Chinese government is committing "demographic genocide" against Uighur Muslims through forced abortions, birth control, mass detentions, and imprisonment. (RELATED: China Committing 'Demographic Genocide' Against Uighurs Through Forced Abortion, Sterilization, Mass Detention, AP Investigation Finds)

The AP investigation, based on interviews with 30 former detainees, family members, a former detention camp instructor, government statistics and state documents, found that the Chinese government seeks to dramatically lower the birthrates of Uighurs and other minorities while encouraging other populations to produce more children.

Chinese parents who have more than a few children are often sent to detention camps or subjected to huge fines, the publication found, and police instill terror into families by raiding homes searching for hidden children.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter's byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Here Are The Companies Linked To Forced Uighur Slave Labor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A number of companies have been linked to labor forced on Uighur Muslims by the Chinese government, according to multiple reports. The Washington Post found that Apple supplier Lens Technology uses Uighur workers in its factories, according to documents obtained by the Tech Transparency Project.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"The [Chinese] government claims that these programmes are in accordance with PRC [the People's Republic of China] law and that workers are engaged voluntarily, in a concerted government-supported effort to alleviate poverty," the report says.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
China uses Uyghur forced labour to make solar panels, says report

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"The [Chinese] government claims that these programmes are in accordance with PRC [the People's Republic of China] law and that workers are engaged voluntarily, in a concerted government-supported effort to alleviate poverty," the report says.

# data[].attributes.headline
Uyghur Slave Labor for Commercial Companies

# data[].attributes.subject
Uyghur Slave Labor for Commercial Companies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
At the factories, ASPI said the Uighurs were typically forced to live in segregated dormitories, have Mandarin lessons and "ideological training" outside of working hours, were subjected to constant surveillance and banned from observing religious practices.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
China Uighurs 'moved into factory forced labour' for foreign brands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At the factories, ASPI said the Uighurs were typically forced to live in segregated dormitories, have Mandarin lessons and "ideological training" outside of working hours, were subjected to constant surveillance and banned from observing religious practices.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
China Is Using Uighur Labor to Produce Face Masks (Published 2020)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Times video investigation identified Chinese companies using a contentious labor program for Uighurs to satisfy demand for P.P.E., some of which ended up in the United States and other countries.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over the last four years, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has carried out a mass detention and political indoctrination campaign against Uyghurs, who are predominantly Muslim, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang), a large region in western China.The courageous voices of survivors, their family members abroad, researchers, and international advocacy groups have thoroughly documented the PRC's discriminatory use of surveillance technologies and trumped-up administrative and criminal charges to abduct and detain more than one million Muslims, including Uyghurs, ethnic Hui, ethnic Kazakhs, ethnic Kyrgyz, ethnic Tajiks, and ethnic Uzbeks, in as many as 1,200 state-run internment camps throughout Xinjiang.Detention in these camps is intended to erase ethnic and religious identities under the pretext of "vocational training."Forced labor is a central tactic used for this repression.

In Xinjiang, the government is the trafficker.Authorities use threats of physical violence, forcible drug intake, physical and sexual abuse, and torture to force detainees to work in adjacent or off-site factories or worksites producing garments, footwear, carpets, yarn, food products, holiday decorations, building materials, extractives, materials for solar power equipment and other renewable energy components, consumer electronics, bedding, hair products, cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment, face masks, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other goods-and these goods are finding their way into businesses and homes around the world.

International outcry has grown since these abuses were first made public.The PRC initially denied all allegations, dismissing them as international "interference" in its domestic affairs.Confronted, however, with eyewitness testimony and thoroughly researched reporting from multiple sources, the PRC eventually admitted the existence of the camps.PRC officials then defended the facilities as necessary measures to counter "terrorism," while also claiming that many of them had already been closed.In reality, they had grown in number and in size, with hundreds of thousands of victims "graduating" and being sent to larger and more technologically advanced prisons under false terrorism-related charges.The government also began transferring many thousands of camp detainees elsewhere in Xinjiang and to other provinces throughout the country under the guise of a "poverty alleviation" program in which companies and local governments received subsidies for forcing them to labor in manufacturing.

With so many disappeared into and abused within this system, entire communities in Xinjiang-communities with rich histories and immeasurable cultural significance-have become ghost towns.Those who have managed to avoid detention are still at risk of state-sponsored forced labor and other abuses.The PRC government's Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (Bingtuan), an economic and paramilitary organization with administrative control over several areas in the region comprising nearly three million personnel, forces members of prison populations and local communities alike to work in hazardous mining, construction, manufacturing, food processing, and-for many thousands of Uyghur adults and children-cotton harvesting.These products and raw materials are injected into international supply chains, spreading the PRC's forced labor complicity around the globe.

The international community has taken tough action to promote accountability for the PRC's actions and strengthen market defenses against the import of these goods.For example, in the United States, the Departments of State, the Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security released the Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory to alert businesses and other entities to the reputational, economic, and legal risks of involvement with entities in or linked to Xinjiang.In addition, since 2019 the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection has issued 10 Withhold Release Orders against goods and companies connected to forced labor in Xinjiang to block their entry into the United States.Likewise, many companies have taken a stand against the use of forced labor in China by cutting ties with suppliers in Xinjiang or those connected to the PRC's campaign of repression-at times earning them heavy consumer and state-run media backlash within the Chinese domestic market.

Governments should protect and serve their citizens-not terrorize and subjugate them for profit.Around the world, governments, companies, and consumers committed to eliminating human trafficking from global supply chains can all play a role in demanding an end to the use of forced labor in Xinjiang and beyond.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Forced Labor in China's Xinjiang Region - United States Department of State

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over the last four years, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has carried out a mass detention and political indoctrination campaign against Uyghurs, who are predominantly Muslim, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang), a large region in western China.