Enes Kanter Freedom (middle, number eleven)
Photo: Michael Dwyer/ AP
Beijing critic Enes Kanter Freedom has accepted the personal invitation of Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming to China and has already suggested a travel route.
"I don't need a luxury tour or propaganda," the NBA professional wrote on Twitter and asked: "Will you accompany me to the Uyghur labor camps, to Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan?"
He is also interested in a "free" conversation with tennis player Peng Shuai.
"Let me know if Xi (President Xi Jinping, ed.) agrees." In the meantime, Peng had disappeared from her home country.
Kanter has repeatedly criticized China for the human rights situation in the country, so Yao was keen to welcome the 29-year-old to the host country of the Winter Olympics (February 4-20).
In this way, Kanter is supposed to get “a more comprehensive picture”.
Dennis Schröder's teammate at the Boston Celtics described President Xi Jinping as a "brutal dictator" in November.
He has also worn shoes with the inscription "Free Tibet" at games.
The transmission of the game was stopped in China, reports the Washington Post.
Kanter is known for political statements
Kanter, born in Zurich to Turkish parents, is known for being vocal about politics.
In 2019 he made a name for himself as a critic of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's regime in Turkey.
Kanter is a supporter of the Gülen movement.
Erdoğan blames Fethullah Gülen, who also lives in the United States, for the attempted coup in August 2016.
Kanter reported in January 2019 that he received death threats and never went out on the streets alone in everyday life.
But the USA is the only place in the world where he still feels safe.
He refrains from traveling abroad with his team – such as to London.
The basketball player feared he could be killed outside of North America for his criticism of Turkey's president.
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