by kleinbl00

1 "stand with Hong Kong" tweet equals

- The Chinese Basketball Association said Sunday it would suspend all cooperation with the Texas-based team. The association's chairman is Yao Ming, a former Rockets player.

- China's consulate general in Houston also urged the team to "clarify and immediately correct the mistakes" in a statement on Sunday.

- CCTV 5, the sports channel of China's top state broadcaster, announced that it would suspend airing Houston Rockets events on television.

- And Tencent Sports said it would suspend live streaming for Houston Rockets games, as well as news about the team. Tencent (TCEHY) is the NBA's exclusive digital partner in China. Nearly 500 million people in China watched NBA programming on Tencent platforms during the last season, according to the companies.

- Li-Ning Company, which makes sportswear, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank each said over the weekend that they would suspend cooperation with the team.

- The NBA said Monday that it recognizes that Morey's views "have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable."

The Chinese statement, however — as bilingual Twitter users were quick to point out — was markedly different in tone and substance. The Chinese version stated that the league was "extremely disappointed in the inappropriate comment by the general manager of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey," and that "he has undoubtedly seriously hurt the feelings of Chinese basketball fans."

The use of "hurt the feelings of Chinese basketball fans" jumped out for China watchers, who recognized the phrase as one of the favored propaganda terms used by Beijing's Foreign Ministry whenever Western brands or individuals speak out on issues related to the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement or China's other territorial disputes.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbas-apology-china-draws-outrage-political-spectrum-1245772