Mark Cuban condemns human rights violations but is ‘okay doing business with China’
Billionaire Mark Cuban condemned human rights abuses globally on Monday – he noted on The Megyn Kelly Show that he is comfortable with his business ties in China.
Cuban said, after being pressed by Kelly on his reasoning, “Because they are a customer.”
He added: “They are a customer of ours, and guess what, Megyn? I’m OK with doing business with China. And so we have to pick our battles. I wish we could solve all the world’s problems. But we can’t.”
“I personally put a priority on domestic issues. I’m against human rights violations around the world,” Cuban said. “China is not the only country with human rights violations.”
He added: “Yes, including China. Any human rights violations anywhere are wrong.”
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Cuban, who has an estimated net worth of $4.1 billion, according to Forbes, earned his fortune through a bevy of business deals, including ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, investments made on ABC’s “Shark Tank” and the $5.7 billion sale of Broadcast.com.
China has been accused internationally of violations such as implementing a surveillance, detention and indoctrination program in the region, targeting Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities.
Basketball fans in Beijing cheered national broadcaster CCTV’s decision to resume broadcasts of NBA games Saturday after a year-long absence brought on by a dispute over politics in Hong Kong.
It was the first time the league appeared on the network since the rift that started when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for anti-government protesters in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
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CCTV quickly halted its relationship with the NBA after Morey’s tweet, even though the post was quickly deleted. China’s Communist leaders are extremely sensitive to anything they view as outside interference in domestic political affairs, including in Hong Kong, a former British colony where protests broke out last year over deteriorating civil liberties.
NBA games have been available to Chinese fans on the streaming service Tencent, another of the league’s broadcast partners.
CCTV’s operator said it had taken note of good wishes extended to Chinese fans during the recently passed Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as “the goodwill continuously expressed by the NBA for some time,” including more than $1 million in medical supplies sent to China by the league to assist coronavirus relief efforts there.