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Nike’s president and CEO, John J. Donahoe, recently declared his company’s unequivocal fealty to the Chinese tyranny. During the “4th Quarter Earnings Call” to discuss the company’s profit projections, Donahoe bragged that Nike “is a brand of China and for China.”
Article by Wesley J. Smith from our partners at The Epoch Times.
Ponder the blatant hypocrisy of that disgraceful statement. In America, Nike prides itself on being woke and the company regularly backs all the politically correct leftwing causes.
For example, a few years ago, Nike threw a corporate fit when Indiana passed a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), speciously arguing that the law guaranteeing freedom of religion encouraged discrimination against sexual minorities.
In another of America’s cultural flashpoints, Nike enthusiastically supported former football quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s “kneeling” protests during the playing of the National Anthem at sporting events. It then put its money where its corporate mouth was by paying Kaepernick hugely (as a certain former president might say) to endorse its brand.
Never mind that a Chinese Kaepernick doing the very same thing would be arrested and disappeared—or worse, subjected to live organ harvesting, as are Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. The worst Kaepernick had to fear from government in the land of the free was angry criticism from President Trump.
Wait, Wesley. Maybe Donahoe was quoted out of context.
Nope. Here is his venal, profit- uber-alles statement edited just a bit for clarity: “We’ve been in China for over 40 years, invested significant time and energy in China in the early days and today we’re the largest sport brand there—and we’re a brand of China and for China. And the biggest asset, we have in China is the consumer equity…I saw that in my first week there, can’t wait to get back there, and it’s strong. And that’s brought to life on streets all over China through the over 7,000 monobrand stores we have in China. So, we have a strong consumer franchise in China and they feel very connected to our brand. And so we’re going to …continue our long-term investment in China.”
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China is a huge market. No extent of tyrannical policies will keep Nike from doing business there. This, even though in so doing, Nike materially contributes to China’s thriving economically—which makes the company complicit in the acute threat China now poses to world peace and security.
In the context of Nike’s supposed support for human rights, it is important to emphasize that the CCP forces ethnic minorities into slave labor, including in a bitter irony—considering the company’s embrace of Kaepernick’s condemnation of America as systematically racist—forcing Muslim Uyghurs to pick cotton in the northwestern province of Xinxiang.
Not to worry, Nike tut-tutted in an official statement: “Nike is committed to ethical and responsible manufacturing and we uphold international labor standards. We are concerned about reports of forced labor in, and connected to, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Nike does not source products from the XUAR and we have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region.”
Oooh! Nike is “concerned”? What mush!
In fact, let’s compare that statements passivity with the Nike’s expressed umbrage at Indiana’s passage of the RFRA. Here’s what the company said about that controversy: “NIKE has led efforts alongside other businesses to defeat discriminatory laws in Oregon and opposes the new law in Indiana, which is bad for our employees, bad for our consumers, bad for business and bad for society as a whole.”
Do you see the difference in message and tone? There wasn’t a word in Nike’s statement about China’s policy of enslaving Uyghurs as being “bad” for the slaves, consumers, business or Chinese society as a whole.
Moreover, even if the company does not buy cotton from the XUAR, so what? Cotton is fungible. Any Chinese cotton used by Nike in its products could have been picked by slaves in the province, and even if it wasn’t, that just makes more slave-picked cotton available for other companies to purchase, and at a lower price given the law of supply and demand.
Besides, the statement is an admission that Nike’s managers know forced labor and slavery exist in China and they don’t care. There’s gold to be made. Indeed, Donahoe stated in the Earnings Call, “given our history of operating in China and our connections in relationship with consumers that over the long-term we’ll be able to deliver low to mid-teens growth.” What is Uyghur misery compared to the billions in profits that growth figure represents?
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Perhaps even worse, Nike’s defense may be false. According to a report released last year by the widely respected Australian Strategic Policy Institute, slavery in China isn’t just about picking cotton: “The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 82 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen.”
The company’s weakly stated opposition to slavery rings even more hollow considering that, according to the New York Times, the company lobbied actively against the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, attempting“ to water down some of its provisions, arguing that while they strongly condemn forced labor and current atrocities in Xinjiang, the act’s ambitious requirements could wreak havoc on supply chains that are deeply embedded in China.” In other words, talk is cheap. Happily, despite Nike’s best efforts, the statute was signed into law by President Trump.
Nike is worse than immoral. It is amoral. It issues statements righteously decrying supposed splinters in America’s eye because company managers think that will maximize profits here among the woke young, while it concomitantly winks at the redwood tree in China’s based on that country’s huge market potential.
If there is such a thing as ultimate moral accountability, these contemporary robber barons might want to reflect on a crucial question first voiced some 2000 years ago: “What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his own soul?”
Wesley J. Smith is chairman of the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism.
New Conservative Network Seeks Crowdfunding Help
They say we have to go big or go home. We’re trying to go big and bring the patriotic truth the the nation, but we need help.
Readers may or may not realize that over the past year, we’ve been bringing more conservative news and opinion outlets under our wing. Don’t take our expansion as a sign of riches; all of the “acquisitions” have been through sweat and promises of greater things to come for all involved. As a result, we’ve been able to bring together several independent media sites under a unified vision of preventing America from succumbing to the progressive, “woke,” Neo-Marxist ideologies that are spreading like wildfire across America.
The slow and steady reopening of America is revealing there was a lot more economic hardship brought about from the Covd-19 lockdowns than most realize. While we continue to hope advertising dollars on the sites go up, it’s simply not enough to do things the right way. We are currently experiencing a gap between revenue and expenses that cannot be overcome by click-ads and MyPillow promos alone (promo code “NOQ” by the way).
To overcome our revenue gap and keep these sites running, our needs fluctuate between $3000-$7000 per month. In other words, we’re in the red and hemorrhaging.
The best way you can help us grow and continue to bring the truth to the people is by donating. We appreciate everything, whether a dollar or $10,000. Anything brings us closer to a point of stability when we can hire writers, editors, and support staff to make the America First message louder. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report and the other sites in the network going.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
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We Often Feel Like David Taking on Giants
Today’s Goliath is the Mainstream Media Industrial Complex that brainwashes the masses.
Our mission is very straightforward: To counter the false narratives and nefarious agendas destroying America today. It isn’t easy for obvious reasons; despite incredible growth over the last year we are still a very tiny fish in a huge media pond. But we’re fighting and we will continue to do so, Lord willing, for as long as we possibly can. The battle for America’s present and future is too important for us to back down to the giants that stand in our way.
We need help. I don’t want to say “desperately,” but the need is definitely great. If you have the means, please donate through our GivingFuel page, PayPal, or our brand new GiveSendGo page. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
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