Appearing Tuesday on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said China should not host the 2022 Winter Olympics due to the Communist regime’s actions towards the NBA and poor human-rights record.
A partial transcript is as follows:
REBECCA QUICK: You are somebody who wants to see negotiations take place and some sort of deals get struck on some of these [U.S.-China trade talks]. What do you think of what we’ve heard so far, because what sounded like a deal feels like it’s not necessarily there yet, but maybe progress has been made?
SEN. RICK SCOTT: You can’t believe there’s ever going to be a deal. This is a government that doesn’t comply with anything. Remember how they agreed to buy stuff earlier this year and they didn’t comply with it? A couple of weeks ago they said they were going to do something and then they changed there mind. They don’t comply with the WTO. Look at Hong Kong, in 1997 they agreed to give basic rights to citizens and oh gosh, that’s gone. For me, this is way bigger than a trade deal. This is a communist Chinese government that doesn’t comply with anything. They don’t let the NBA players speak if they take a chance and say something anti-Xi. I don’t believe there is ever going to be a deal.
QUICK: We shouldn’t believe anything that’s happened to this point? What would you be telling the government to do?
SEN. SCOTT: Be very specific about what we need. One, China has to start showing up and acting responsibly. Open up your markets, you agreed to it when you signed the WTO, so do it. Make sure you stop stealing our technology. Release the million Uyghurs that are in prison, just for there religion. We have American citizens detained now, release them. Give the Hong Kong citizens their rights back. I’m furious with the NBA. They’ll stand up for human rights when it’s convenient, maybe they can sell more jerseys, but gosh, don’t stand up for human rights in China because that might impact there jersey sales or shoe sales. This stuff is ridiculous.
QUICK: [NBA Commissioner] Adam Silver is not welcome in China right now, from what we heard yesterday. Just by saying he will not apologize or force the general manager of the Houston Rockets to apologize.
SEN. SCOTT: He didn’t say that stuff when he was in China… and now we shouldn’t be doing the 2022 Winter Olympics there. Are they going to tell all the American and world-wide athletes that they can’t you can’t say anything anti-Xi?
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