While major corporations responded to the invasion of Ukraine by changing or suspending their business operations in Russia, the six American corporate sponsors of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics remain silent on the Uyghur genocide.
Although Airbnb, Intel, Snickers (Mars Inc.), Visa, Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble — the only six American companies to sponsor the 2022 Winter Olympics — adjusted their business operations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, none of the companies have acknowledged the Uyghur genocide nor altered their business plans in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Recognition of the Uyghur genocide at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has risen with mounting evidence of the situation, and over 200 human rights organizations and eight governmental bodies, including Canada, the U.S., Holland, the U.K., Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Belgium and France, have declared that the PRC is guilty of committing crimes against humanity, genocide or both against ethnic Uyghurs and other minority groups.
Yet major American corporations remain silent on the issue, with some business leaders, such as Golden State Warriors owner Chamath Palihapitiya, having even voiced what former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom characterized as an “I could care less” attitude toward the CCP’s human rights abuses.