A Republican congressman has accused NBC of refusing to air his ad criticizing China during its coverage of the Winter Olympics in...
A Republican congressman has accused NBC of refusing to air his ad criticizing China during its coverage of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Rep. Tim Waltz of Florida said on Saturday that NBC was refusing to show the ad calling the event the 'Genocide Games' unless he removed the logos of Olympic corporate sponsors whom the ad criticizes.
'We won't let them silence us,' he tweeted, sharing the footage of the 30-second spot, calling it 'the ad that NBC and the Chinese Communist Party doesn't want you to see.'
A spokesman for NBCUniversal did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com on Saturday.
Rep. Tim Waltz of Florida said on Saturday that NBC was refusing to show the ad calling the Winter Olympics in Beijing the 'Genocide Games'
Waltz said that NBC insisted that he remove logos of Olympic corporate sponsors from the ad
In the ad, Waltz accuses the Chinese government of genocide and slave labor, and slams American companies who do business there as 'drunk on Chinese dollars' and 'entangled with Communist dictators.'
The ad refers to the 2022 Winter Olympics, which are currently underway, as 'Genocide Games staged by the Chinese Communist Party.'
The ad also features NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom, an outspoken pro-democracy advocate, urging a boycott of Chinese goods.
Waltz had planned to run the $40,000 ad, paid for by his campaign, in the DC area on Monday night during NBC's Olympic coverage, his spokesman told the New York Post.
'NBC will not run our ad unless we remove the corporate logos of companies,' Waltz spokesman James Hewitt told the Post.
Hewitt said such a change 'defeats a major purpose of the ad: to highlight US sponsors' culpability with China's human rights abuses.'
'The point of the ad was to target Olympic audiences in DC,' he said.
The ad also features NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom, an outspoken pro-democracy advocate, urging a boycott of Chinese goods
Competitors are seen on Saturday during the Short Track Speed Skating events at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games
China has faced harsh criticism over its alleged mistreatment of Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic minority.
Activists and U.N. rights experts say at least one million Muslims are being detained in camps in the remote western region of Xinjiang, with activists and some Western politicians accusing China of using torture, forced labor and sterilizations.
China denies any human rights abuses in Xinjiang and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.
At the Winter Games Opening Ceremony, the Chinese regime chose a Uyghur athlete to light the Olympic flame in an apparent propaganda attempt to deflect criticism.
NBC host Savannah Guthrie was criticized for her response to the move by people on Twitter who claimed that she fell for Chinese propaganda.
During the NBC telecast, Guthrie described the decision as 'provocative' and an 'in- your-face response to Western nations, including the U.S, who have called Chinese treatment of that group genocide and diplomatically boycotted these games.'
A diplomatic boycott of the games was initiated by Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, United States and India over China's human rights record, particularly over its treatment of the Uyghurs.
Dinigeer Yilamujiang (right), a Uyghur cross-country skier from the north west region of Xinjiang, was one of the Chinese athletes to light the flame at the opening ceremonies
China has denied the allegations and warned nations taking part in the boycott that they will 'pay a price' for their 'mistake.' But athletes from those countries will be participating in the Games.
Uyghurs, who are culturally, linguistically and religiously distinct from Han Chinese, have long resented Beijing's heavy-handed rule and the influx of migrants who have reaped economic benefits in the resource-rich region.
The resentment erupted into a series of violent incidents labeled terrorism by China, leading president and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping to demand a mass crackdown. The network of camps was established around 2017.
Critics and former inmates told of strict discipline and harsh living conditions inside. Other reports spoke of families separated by the authorities, mass surveillance and coercive birth control policies forced on Muslim women.
China dismisses accusations of abuses as 'the lie of the century' and says its policies have resulted in an end to separatist violence. Critics say the result has been a traumatized population, cultural dislocation and continuing abuses.
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