American investor and billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya under fire, because he stated that the fate of the Uyghurs in China “does not care about the fate of the Uyghurs in China.”
“Let’s face it, nobody, nobody cares what happens to the Uyghurs, okay?” He said in a recent podcast discussion.
His interlocutor had just mentioned that President Joe Biden, despite his harsh words about China and its treatment of the Uyghurs, did not help him in the polls.
Palihapitiya answered in explanation: ‘You bring it up because you really care. And I think it’s really nice that you care, but… the rest of us don’t. I’m just telling you a very hard truth.
His comments sparked outrage on social media. “When genocide happens, it’s these people who make it,” tweeted support for Uyghur basketball player Anis Kanter.
Palihapitiya admitted on Twitter yesterday that his comments “lack empathy”. He said human rights matter, whether in the United States, China or elsewhere.
China pursues a repressive policy in the western region of Xinjiang, where most of the Uyghur Muslims live. More than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims are held in so-called reeducation camps, where they are subject to a strict regime.
China also uses forced Uyghur workers and the practice of Islam is suppressed. Recently, Chinese authorities sentenced a Uyghur woman who was studying the Holy Quran to 14 years in prison, Islam Omroebe reports.
The United States called Chinese policy toward the Uyghurs a “genocide,” as did the Dutch parliament. This is due in part to reports of forced sterilization of Uyghur women.
