"Xi Jinping is a control freak!" - Enes Kanter takes a jab at the Chinese President and the Chinese government as the war of words continues
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter continued his protest against the President of China, Xi Jinping and his method of ruling, calling him a control freak recently on Twitter.
"Xi Jinping is a control freak!"
Enes Kanter, who has been an outspoken advocate for a variety of causes throughout his career, took a jab at the Chinese government's surveillance program, claiming it is used to monitor citizens in a bid to silence anyone whom the government thinks is a threat to the communist party.
"The Chinese government’s surveillance tech is creating a database about everyone, monitoring everyday life, demanding loyalty to the party, silencing anything & anyone they consider a threat."
Xi Jinping is a control freak!
The Chinese government’s surveillance tech is creating a database about everyone, monitoring everyday life
demanding loyalty to the party
silencing anything & anyone they consider a threat.
This digital authoritarianism is a threat to democracies. https://t.co/0y5FAnAOOi
Kanter has urged United States President Joe Biden to intervene as he suggests that Jinping and his government are a threat to democracy.
"This digital authoritarianism is a threat to democracies."
Xi Jinping and Joe Biden had a virtual meeting last week, and Kanter has been vocal on the need for Biden to raise the issues of the ill treatment of the Tibetans.
Enes Kanter's protest against the Xi Jinping and his government
Enes Kanter was born in Switzerland but raised in Turkey. The Utah Jazz selected him with the third pick in the 2011 draft. Now in his second stint in Boston, Kanter has played for five franchises in his career.
He has always been vocal about political intimidation and dictatorship, especially his criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. This led to his father facing criminal charges in Turkey and Kanter receiving threats to his life.
Over the past several weeks, Enes Kanter has been critical of the Chinese government's brutal rule over the people of Tibet, claiming Tibetans are being deprived of their basic rights and freedom. He made his opinon heard through tweets, videos and interviews as well as his T-shirts and sneakers.
These actions led to Celtics games being pulled off Hong Kong's live-streaming giant platform, Tencent Holdings, leaving fans with few options to watch the Celtics.
Enes Kanter has played in only six of 17 games this season. While some may have wondered if he was being sidelined because of his comments and protests against the Chinese government, Celtics coach Ime Udoka debunked that theory, saying Kanter's absence from the court came because of defensive schemes. Udoka said players have the right to express their views.
Kanter has played in the Celtics' past four games, helping them to three wins in that stretch.
Kanter has also been critical of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, accusing the Nike endorser of choosing "money over morals." LBJ dismissed Enes Kanter as trying to use his name to create publicity for his cause Friday after the Celtics and Lakers played each other. Many Nike products are made in China.
Money over Morals for the “King” 👑
Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice
They really do “shut up & dribble” when Big Boss 🇨🇳 says so
Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research? https://t.co/YUA8rGYeoZ
Enes Kanter has previously made strong accusations against the Chinese government, ranging from forced organ harvesting and ethnic genocide of the people of Uyghur to assaults on Tibetans.