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- What do Instagram, Lady Gaga,

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and the letter N have in common?

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They've all been banned in
China for political reasons.

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Maybe even this video
will be banned in China.

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With an estimated GDP of $14 trillion,

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China has the power to
allure American companies

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which want in on the sizeable market.

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And, if they want a slice of the pie,

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they have to play nice.

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That means placating China politically

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so they don't end up in
censored oblivion with the rest.

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So time and time again

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American companies have folded to China.

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This time, Chinese and American ideals

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are at loggerheads over basketball.

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The geopolitical firestorm was
sparked from a single tweet

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from the manager of the Houston Rockets,

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who voiced support of
the Hong Kong protests.

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It's ballooned into a
battle of ideologies,

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of territorial nationalism
versus freedom of speech.

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But China has the upper hand.

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It's pulled NBA games

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from the state-controlled broadcaster CCTV

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and from the streaming service Tencent,

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and it's promised to punish the NBA

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for slighting its values,
threatening retribution.

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- What this speaks to is the fragility

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of the Chinese government.

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It really does reveal a
deep-seated lack of confidence

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within the Chinese leadership
about their own legitimacy.

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- The reality is the overblown
reflex is nothing new.

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Experts used to talk about the 3 Ts:

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Tibet, Taiwan, and Tiananmen,
the touchy territorial taboos.

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When foreign companies
imply that these regions

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are their own autonomous states,
China is quick to punish.

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Take airlines.

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All the major U.S.
carriers have gotten flack

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for listing Taiwan as a separate country

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on their dropdown menus,

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so did Marriott Hotels, for
listing Taiwan and Tibet.

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Mercedes-Benz was disciplined
for quoting the Dalai Lama

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on an Instagram post.

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- Oh oh oh, yeah, no no,
we don't wanna go there.

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Talking about the Dalai
Lama doesn't go over well

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with the Chinese.

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- The what?

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- In the entertainment world,

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China often gets to
shape Hollywood content

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and retaliates if it doesn't get its way.

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For a long time, Brad
Pitt was banned from China

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for starring in "Seven Years in Tibet."

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Oh, and so was Winnie the
Pooh, for other reasons.

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- No, no, no, no, that's
definitely off limits.

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Winnie the Pooh is illegal in China

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because some Chinese students said

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he looked like the Chinese president.

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- Oh, come on, that's ridiculous.

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- What's more astounding

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than the dramatic
reactions and the sanctions

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is how quickly and cooperatively

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Western companies cave to China.

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Now, the semi-autonomous
region of Hong Kong

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has become another sensitive
geopolitical subject

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after months of protest about
a proposed extradition bill.

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Cue: more yielding to China.

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Luxury fashion brands have
issued these fawning apologies

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after designing T-shirts listing Hong Kong

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as a separate nation.

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And e-sports company Blizzard
Entertainment banned a player

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who called for the
liberation of Hong Kong.

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The fear of alienation
from the Chinese market

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is remarkable.

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With so much revenue at stake,

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it's simply bad business
to put principles first.

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Take the NBA, which is
incredibly popular in China.

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The streaming partnership
between the NBA and Tencent

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is reportedly worth $1.3 billion.

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Tencent's NBA audience was
more than 490 million in 2018.

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And, as a whole, it's estimated

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that the NBA makes $4 billion a year

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from this Chinese partnership.

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That's not to mention
lucrative sponsorship deals

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that keep NBA stars submissive to China.

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- When you're misinformed

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or you're not educated about something,

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and I'm just talking
about the tweet itself,

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you never know the
ramifications that can happen.

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- But other players

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and politicians on both sides of the aisle

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have spoken out against
kowtowing to China.

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- And some of the NBA's
biggest players and owners

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who routinely exercise their freedom

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to criticize this country

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lose their voices when it
comes to the freedom and rights

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of the people of China.

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In siding with the Chinese Communist Party

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and silencing free speech,

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the NBA is acting like
a whole-owned subsidiary

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of that authoritarian regime.

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- The Vice President is also taking a shot

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at athletes and coaches
who've used their platform

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to speak out on civil rights
and gun violence in America.

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Still, human rights abuses
are flagrant in China.

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A million Uygur Muslims are reportedly

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in concentration camps
in Xinjiang province,

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where the NBA set up a training academy.

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Is it time for American companies

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to take ethical stances on free speech?

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They may no longer have a choice.

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- Companies are gonna have to
be aware that this NBA issue

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has elevated the issue of
Chinese economic coercion

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into the popular consciousness

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in a way that it never has been before.

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- One solution is for
multinational companies

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to form coalitions.

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- What they fail to recognize
is that if they were to unite,

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they would have significant
leverage over China.

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If the airline industry
had united and said,

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"We are going to recognize Taiwan

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"in any way that we see fit,"

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what is Beijing going to say?

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They're gonna tell all
international airlines

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that you cannot have access to China?

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We're going to cancel all of your routes?

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- But, naturally, companies
are going to compete

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with each other to strike that
lucrative deal with China.

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So, China knows it can get away with it.

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Ultimately, it's hit a
nerve for the Chinese

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and exposed some home truths for the U.S.

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China's response to Pence?

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Americans need to "look
themselves in the mirror

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"and get their house in order"

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before pointing the finger at China.

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This is a deeply nuanced issue,

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rooted in centuries of history,

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without a clear-cut answer.

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- Well, you know what they say.

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You gotta lower your ideals of freedom

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if you wanna suck on
the warm teat of China.

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- And, if it wasn't clear,

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"South Park" is definitely
banned in China.