Photo: Tesla
If you have not read about the Uyghur so far, they are a Muslim minority from Xinjiang (in China) that has been under strict surveillance since 2014. The Chinese government has created “vocational education and training centers” accused of severe human rights violations. Well, Tesla has opened a showroom in Xinjiang, with all the associated implications.
For the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), that can be seen as an act of allegiance and respect to its policies, regardless of how damaging that can be in foreign countries. Companies that use Xinjiang resources are accused of benefitting from forced labor from the mass-detention camps that the Chinese government has created to indoctrinate Uyghurs.
These companies are between a rock and a hard place. If they say that they do not want to buy products from Xinjiang, they can suffer smear campaigns and lose sales or even access to one of the most important markets in the world. The Wall Street Journal remembers that H&M and Nike are the most recent examples of that.
At the same time, establishing in the region or being on good terms with the Chinese government with respect to its Uyghur policies raises concerns in other markets that are convinced that China is promoting “genocide and crimes against humanity” in the region. Those were the very words U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken used to attack what the Chinese government is doing to Muslims and other minorities in its war against terror.
Joe Biden recently signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and the U.S. government has sanctioned Chinese companies that would be involved with the abuses by using forced labor. A diplomatic boycott against the Beijing Winter Olympics is also planned, showing that the American government will not ignore the Uyghur question.
By opening its showroom in Urumqi, the region’s capital, Tesla may be trying to be in the good graces of the Chinese government. However, doing so may create problems for the company in its home market, where it has one of its only two operating factories and is building another one. Elon Musk constantly clashing with Joe Biden and Democrat politicians also does not help create a reassuring environment for its shareholders.
Tesla may not use forced labor in its showroom or benefit from it in any way, but its decision to be in a region where systematic human rights violations happen sends a message. The fact that its cars will not be bought by the people forced to be in the “vocational education and training centers” makes it even worse.
These companies are between a rock and a hard place. If they say that they do not want to buy products from Xinjiang, they can suffer smear campaigns and lose sales or even access to one of the most important markets in the world. The Wall Street Journal remembers that H&M and Nike are the most recent examples of that.
At the same time, establishing in the region or being on good terms with the Chinese government with respect to its Uyghur policies raises concerns in other markets that are convinced that China is promoting “genocide and crimes against humanity” in the region. Those were the very words U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken used to attack what the Chinese government is doing to Muslims and other minorities in its war against terror.
Joe Biden recently signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and the U.S. government has sanctioned Chinese companies that would be involved with the abuses by using forced labor. A diplomatic boycott against the Beijing Winter Olympics is also planned, showing that the American government will not ignore the Uyghur question.
By opening its showroom in Urumqi, the region’s capital, Tesla may be trying to be in the good graces of the Chinese government. However, doing so may create problems for the company in its home market, where it has one of its only two operating factories and is building another one. Elon Musk constantly clashing with Joe Biden and Democrat politicians also does not help create a reassuring environment for its shareholders.
Tesla may not use forced labor in its showroom or benefit from it in any way, but its decision to be in a region where systematic human rights violations happen sends a message. The fact that its cars will not be bought by the people forced to be in the “vocational education and training centers” makes it even worse.
The quality of Chinese electric cars is also very good, and Tesla is not the only game in town. If Rubio and other Americans want Tesla to lose profits, China is not the one that will hurt most: Global Times Commentator Hu Xijin #HuSays pic.twitter.com/pHmFeAkZyx
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 4, 2022
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