Since normalizing relations with Communist China back in 1979, the U.S. government and its companies that do business with the country have, for the most part, turned a blind-eye to its numerous human rights abuses.
In China's Muslim-majority province of Xinjiang, it's believed that over a million members of its Uighur population are being arbitrarily imprisoned and tortured in concentration camps. Female Uighurs in detention are being given forced abortions and subjected to sexual mistreatment.
For the past four months, mass anti-government protests in Hong Kong have been savagely beaten in the streets. The gathering began as a peaceful demonstrations of an extradition bill and have expanded to become protests against oppression by the Communist party.
Hong Kong police confirmed they shot a 14-year-old boy in the leg during pro-democracy protests. He is the second teenager hit by live fire since protests began.
They arrested him for allegedly rioting and assaulting an officer. pic.twitter.com/AO0hgXpPrF
— AJ+ (@ajplus) October 7, 2019
Elsewhere in the country, the government attempts to control society through mass surveillance systems and DNA samples. It's also working to develop a social credit system to reward and punish its citizens.
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The country has a long history of imprisoning those that disagree with the party sees homosexuality is seen as a mental illness.
Comedy Central's "South" Park produced a hilarious and eye-opening take down of how U.S. businesses have allowed Chinese influence to help shape the arts in America.
The October 2 episode, "Band in China" follows Randy March in his attempts to export his brand of marijuana to China, while his son Stan's death metal band attempts to make a biopic that's approved by Chinese censors.
Randy is imprisoned for bringing marijuana to China where his is brainwashed by his captors. "Party is more important than the individual," he reads off a card.
Meanwhile, to make a biopic that can be exported to the Chinese market, Stan's documentary has any mentions of freedom or the Dalai Lama removed from the film.
The episode also takes shots at Disney for kowtowing to China censors so it can profit of exporting its lucrative Marvel and "Star Wars films to the country.
The company notably minimized the image of "Star Wars" star actor John Boyega (who is black) on its Chinese marketing for fear it would drive away movie-goers.
The Chinese poster for #TheForceAwakens shrunk John Boyega: https://t.co/z6s1Nvye8U pic.twitter.com/QEi2NWN3hi
— ScreenCrush (@screencrushnews) December 5, 2015
The South Park episodes also featured stars of the NBA. The league recently extended a $1.5 billion deal to stream its games in China.
everyone needs to watch the new South Park episode about Chinese censorship. there's even a NBA reference. pic.twitter.com/hSrcgJYKQr
— isabella steger (@stegersaurus) October 5, 2019
The episode proved eerily prescient four days later when Houston Rockets general manager Darly Morey, tweeted to express his solidarity with Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.
The NBA immediately chastised Morey for speaking out against the Chinese oppression saying his tweet "deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable."
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Morey deleted his tweet and issued an apology.
The NBA's response to Morey's tweet seemed hypocritical. It's players and coaches have always been encouraged to discuss social justice issues in the United States — which makes sense give in its younger, urban fan base.
But the moment someone spoke out about social injustice in China, a country where the NBA has billions at risk, they were quickly silenced.
You gotta lower your ideals of freedom if you wanna suck on the warm teat of China. #southpark23
Watch "Band in China": https://t.co/GQEQL9ynCs pic.twitter.com/RepekgO3j9
— South Park (@SouthPark) October 7, 2019
"You gotta lower your ideals of freedom if you wanna suck on the warm teat of China," the manager of Stan's band says in the episode.
You can watch the entire episode at South Park Studios.
Ketel Marte was brought to tears during an MLB game after facing a shameful fan taunt.
Baseball manager's poignant support for a player brought to tears after shameful fan taunt
Whether they’re expecting perfection from their favorite players or, worse, behaving callously toward opposing teams, sports fans often forget that athletes are human beings. But athletic competition has the ability to unify and uplift, even amid such painful and unpleasant encounters. Take, for example, a major-league baseball game held June 24, 2025 between the home team Chicago White Sox and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
A shameful low point occurred when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was at bat in the seventh inning. Per ESPN, a fan reportedly yelled out a comment regarding Marte’s late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car accident in the Dominican Republic. Team personnel, including manager Torey Lovullo, then requested the 22-year-old fan be ejected. (Though he was remorseful and admitted his actions were inappropriate, according to an ESPN source, he was nonetheless banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks.) "We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," the MLB said in a statement. Marte reportedly declined to comment.
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While the fan’s behavior is inexcusable, it did spark a powerful and inspiring moment. After hearing the comment, Marte was visibly upset, prompting Lovullo to walk on the field, put his arm around him, and offer some words of encouragement. "[I said,] 'I love you, and I’m with you, and we’re all together, and you’re not alone,'" Lovullo said in a post-game interview, as documented by The Rich Eisen Show. "'No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you’re heard, that guy is an idiot.’"
According to Arizona Republic, Lovullo heard the fan’s comment but didn’t want to repeat it. “I looked right at [Marte] when I heard,” he said. “I looked right at him, and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure."
Elsewhere in the post-game interview, the manager called the moment "terrible" and reflected on why he stood up for Marte. "Fans are nasty, and fans go too far sometimes," he said. "I love my players, and I’m gonna protect them…I’ve known Ketel for nine years. He’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships as well and some really tough moments in his life. I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him."
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The following day, the Chicago White Sox X account sent out a message in support of Marte, writing, "We’re with you" and "Baseball is family." On The Rich Eisen Show, the show's host addressed the need to eradicate this kind of toxic athlete-fan interaction: "I was hearing [people saying], 'There’s no place for this in major league baseball.' There isn’t. There’s no place for this in our society. I understand that people are saying the MLB has got to do something about this. Fans have a right to heckle players—this is something that has happened forever…But there is a line."
In another recent, depressing sports moment with a beautiful coda, let’s look to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the first quarter, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon—a devastating injury that could potentially sideline him for most of the 2025-2026 season. Following the game, in a lovely display of sportsmanship, Thunder point-guard and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Pacers locker room to check on his competitor. In a press conference, he said, "You just hate to see it, in sports in general. But in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I can't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate."
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