Dharamshala, 14th November: Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen commended NBA player Enes Kanter on Saturday for urging people to “stand with Taiwan” and “support democracy” in a video posted earlier that day. “I stand with Taiwan because it is a democratic and free country,” Kanter stated in a video shared on Twitter. Kanter also chastised Chinese President Xi Jinping for claiming Taiwan is a part of China and threatening to attack Taiwan on a regular basis, describing Xi’s behavior as “being stuck in his own universe,” and arguing that China’s actions illustrate the country is a threat to freedom everywhere.
“Taiwan is now at the front lines against China’s dictatorship. My message to all freedom supporters watching this today is we are stronger together. We must all stand with Taiwan, support Taiwan and defend democracy,” Kanter said, adding that he believes the Taiwanese should decide the island’s future.
Tsai responded to Kanter with a video message of her own, in which she thanked Kanter for supporting Taiwan. “We will always defend our hard-won freedom and democracy, and your and our allies’ support throughout the world gives us strength,” Tsai added. “There are a lot of basketball lovers in Taiwan, and we’re all rooting for you,” she continued.
Kanter was born in Switzerland to Turkish parents and reared in Turkey before going to the United States at the age of 17 to pursue a career in basketball. He has been a vocal critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he deems a dictator, and his Turkish passport has been canceled, preventing him from visiting his family in Turkey.
Kanter began condemning the Chinese government and human rights violations committed by Beijing against Tibetans, Uighurs, and Hong Kongers on social media late last month. He has worn basketball sneakers with the slogans “Free Uighur,” “Stop genocide, torture, rape, slave labor,” and “Free Tibet” before and during games.