In March 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) published a report on the use by American companies of China's persecuted ethnic minority, known as Uyghurs, as slave labor in many factories, in particular, one that makes very pricey athletic shoes for Nike.
As previously reported, these factories are not operated directly by say, Nike or Apple, but always by a contractor, presumably in order to give the popular brands plausible deniability when it is learned that they are using slaves to make mega profits. But, seriously, do you think anything gets by Apple CEO Tim Cook, or head of Nike, John Donohoe?
You don't build global brands worth countless billions by not knowing every aspect of that business, particularly your labor costs (or the absence of them).
The ASPI report states: “A factory in eastern China that manufacturers shoes for U.S. company Nike is equipped with watchtowers, barbed-wire fences, and police guard boxes...”
The factory in question, a Nike supplier for more than 30 years, is located in Laixi in Shandong province, and is operated by a South Korean firm known as Qingdao Taekwang Shoes Co., and utilizes approximately 700 Uyghur laborers, who are held against their will, according to The Gatestone Institute.
This one factory reportedly produces more than eight million pairs of athletic shoes annually.
This brings us to the perennial anthem kneeler, NBA ball bouncer, LeBron James...
For the last several years, James has been bad-mouthing the police, President Trump and the United States for being a land of “oppression.” All this, while enjoying a jaw-dropping $1 billion lifetime endorsement deal with Nike.
While the self-styled ‘social justice warrior’ often talks about the slavery that occurred in this country (And was ended 160 years ago, by the U.S. government in a war that claimed 600,000 American lives.), and laments how that injustice somehow still affects black American professional athletes today...LeBron never mentions the slavery taking place, not 160 years ago, but right now, today in China.
And, while he has voiced his support for Muslims, who he somehow believed were being mistreated by the Trump administration, he never had the guts to voice that same concern for the Uyghur population in China, who are also Muslim.
But, why would LeBron James or Nike ever let the real plight of people living in concentration camps and used as slave labor get in the way of their social justice campaigns, or more importantly, their obscene profits?
****Please help us continue to bring you the uncensored news on the ongoing invasion by clicking the "DONATE" button at the top of this page...Thank you!****
