It has all been so vague and furious and quick. First, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted and then deleted a post last weekend supporting the protests in Hong Kong. When Chinese sponsors fled, the Chinese Basketball Association suspended cooperation with the team and the Internet giant Tencent stopped streaming Rockets games, Morey and the team’s owner expressed regret, and droves of fans and politicians flayed the league for kowtowing.
Criticism of China's unfair treatment of American companies has focused on technology transfers, state support of domestic businesses and intellectual-property theft Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping calls this “discourse power” — the ability to shape the narrative and “tell China’s story well.” And foreign companies and their employees are excellent proxies for evangelizing China’s position. In other words, while the United States excels in soft power, China wins in what we could call proxy power. When Chinese basketball star Yao Ming praises China, Americans expect it.
Word is they control the NBA.
When I first heard the clip out of context, I honestly thought the Rockets PR agent shutting down the CNN question was a Chinese government official.