Rick Scott blasts Kodak's apology to China for Xinjiang photos, claims it 'empowers' Beijing's 'abuses'
Kodak should stand for "American values and against our foreign adversaries," Scott asserted
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Kodak's apology to China's government and its removal of an Instagram post showing the situation in Xinjiang had U.S. Sen. Rick Scott "deeply concerned," the Florida Republican said Wednesday.
Yielding to China only "empowers the Communist Party’s … abuses," Scott said.
The region has been linked to an alleged genocide of Uyghur Muslims by Beijing’s Communist Party.
Kodak deleted an online post showing several photos taken in Xinjiang by photographer Patrick Wack, which Wack said showed an "abrupt descent into an Orwellian dystopia," after receiving backlash from Beijing, Scott detailed in a letter Wednesday to Kodak CEO James Continenza. Scott posted the letter on his Twitter page.
KODAK KNOCKED AFTER DELETING POST FEATURING ABUSES AGAINST UIGHURS: ‘GLOBAL TIMES GLOATING ABOUT IT’
In July, Kodak posted a statement explaining its reason for removing the content.
"Kodak’s Instagram page is intended to enable creativity by providing a platform for promoting the medium of film," the company wrote. "It is not intended to be a platform for political commentary. The views expressed by Mr. Wack do not represent those of Kodak and are not endorsed by Kodak. We apologize for any misunderstanding or offense the post may have caused."
Sen. Rick Scott said Kodak's apology to Beijing for posting photos of Xinjiang "empowers the Communist Party’s …abuses."
Scott added in his letter that Kodak had also "fearfully apologized" to Beijing on the Chinese social media site WeChat, writing "We will keep ourselves in check and correct ourselves, taking this as an example of the need for caution."
Noting that the U.S. and its allies have labeled the situation in Xinjiang as a "genocide," Scott demanded Continenza explain why Kodak apologized, if the content would be reposted, what the company’s relationship with the Communist Party is and if Kodak’s supply chain is free from Uyghur forced labor.
"The ongoing abuses in Communist China are despicable," Scott wrote. "Kodak’s decision to delete these photos, essentially censoring its own content, only empowers Communist China to continue these abuses against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang."
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He said as a U.S. company based in New York, Kodak should stand for "American values and against our foreign adversaries."