NBA player Kanter slams China's 'brutal' Xi

NBA player Enes Kanter on Wednesday slammed Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "brutal dictator" and declared that "Tibet belongs to the Tibetan people", risking reigniting tensions between Beijing and the US basketball league.

Tibet has alternated over the centuries between independence and control by China, which claims it "peacefully liberated" the region in 1951 and brought infrastructure and education to the previously underdeveloped region.

But human rights campaigners and exiles have accused China of religious repression, torture, forced sterilization and cultural erosion through forced re-education.

"Dear Brutal Dictator XI JINPING and the Chinese Government. Tibet belongs to the Tibetan people!" Boston Celtics center Kanter said in a message posted on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

"I stand with my Tibetan brothers and sisters, and I support their calls for Freedom," the 29-year-old added, next to a picture of sneakers adorned with Tibetan iconography and the slogan "Free Tibet".

The message accompanied a three-minute video of Kanter wearing a T-shirt of the Dalai Lama and criticizing Chinese rule in the region.

Kanter wore the political sneakers on the sidelines of the Celtics' 138-134 double-overtime defeat to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, a game he did not appear in.

Global brands including the NBA have in recent years been consumed by PR crises and faced financial repercussions in China after touching politically sensitive subjects.

In 2019, Chinese broadcasters dropped the league after Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted a message of support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

But the NBA remains wildly popular in China, where it is the most popular sports league.

- 'Ridiculous allegation' -

By Thursday in China, the sports site of tech giant Tencent showed upcoming Celtics games had been pulled from its livestream roster.

Coverage of the games had been downgraded to text and photo only, a status currently applied to the Philadelphia 76ers, where Morey is now president.

A handful of confused fans asked on Tencent's website and Weibo page why the streams were pulled.

When asked about Kanter's comments, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said: "His ridiculous allegation is not even worth refuting."

"We welcome all friends from all countries to visit Tibet without prejudice and with an objective stance," Wang Wenbin said during a regular press conference.

Swiss-born and Turkey-raised, Kanter is a devout Muslim, and vocal in defense of various political causes.

He has previously angered the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who he has also dubbed a "dictator".

In a 2020 opinion piece for The Boston Globe, he wrote: "Tens of thousands of innocent people are locked up in Turkish jails, paying the price of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's disdain for human rights."

Kanter re-joined the Celtics in August, having played for them a couple of years earlier.

In more than 700 NBA appearances, he has also turned out for Utah, Oklahoma City, New York and Portland.

Agence France-Presse

Dalai Lama says he feels almost normal as he leaves hospital

NEW DELHI — The Dalai Lama said he felt “normal, almost normal” as he left the New Delhi hospital where he had been treated for a chest infection.

The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader looked pale but strong and spoke cheerfully to The Associated Press as he walked out of the building after being discharged Friday morning. He had been hospitalized on Tuesday after coming to the capital to consult with doctors.

He is likely to return this week to the north Indian hill town of Dharmsala that has been his headquarters since he fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama usually spends several months a year traveling the world to teach Buddhism and highlight the Tibetans’ struggle for greater freedom in China. But he has cut down on travel in the past year in order to take care of his health.

China doesn’t recognize the Tibetan government-in-exile and hasn’t held any dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama since 2010. Beijing accuses him of seeking to separate Tibet from China.

The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he merely advocates for substantial autonomy and protection of the region’s native Buddhist culture.

At an event with educators in Delhi earlier this month, the Dalai Lama said he is not seeking independence for Tibet, but rather a “reunion” with China under mutually acceptable terms.

In Tibetan Buddhist belief, the soul of its most senior lama is reincarnated into the body of a child, but China says its leaders have the right to choose a successor.

The Dalai Lama also predicted that the political impasse with China could change if he lived for at least another decade. But he said that if he died next year, “the Chinese government will seriously show reincarnation must (happen) in China.”  /muf

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net