2019-10-12_The_Economist_

28 United States The EconomistOctober 12th 2019

S

omehow daryl moreymust not have

been fully briefed on the most-followed

but least-discussed rule of doing business

in China: do not say anything that might re-

flect negatively on the Communist Party.

On the morning of October 5th in Tokyo, Mr

Morey, the general manager of the Houston

Rockets, a National Basketball Association

(nba) team heretofore loved by millions of

Chinese fans, ignited a furore in China by

tweeting a seven-word message in support

of protesters in Hong Kong: “Fight for free-

dom”, he wrote. “Stand with Hong Kong.” In

response to the tweet, which Mr Morey

would later delete, the Communist Party

showed its willingness to use market pow-

er to constrain speech beyond China’s bor-

ders—which in turn is hardening resis-

tance in America to China’s influence.

Chinese nationalists circulated the im-

age from Twitter (which is blocked in Chi-

na) on Chinese social media, and angrily

asserted that Mr Morey was challenging

China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong. Chi-

na’s consulate in Houston issued a state-

ment that China was “deeply shocked” and

urged the Rockets to “correct the error”. The

Chinese Basketball Association—chaired

by Yao Ming, China’s greatest player and a

former Rocket (helping explain the mas-

sive popularity of the team in China)—de-

clared its “strong opposition” to Mr Mo-

rey’s tweet and said it would stop working

with the Rockets.

cctv, the state broadcaster, and Ten-

cent, an internet conglomerate that

streams nba games, announced they

would not show Rockets games. Sponsors

cut ties with the team. E-commerce sites

stopped selling Rockets kit. The official

nbastore in Beijing, the largest outside

North America, was instructed by the au-

thorities to remove all Rockets merchan-

dise from the shelves, according to a sales-

man there (with the exception of Yao Ming

jerseys). People’s Daily, the party’s mouth-

piece, accused Mr Morey of being “pro-sep-

aratist”. The controlling owner of the

Brooklyn Nets, Joe Tsai, a Taiwan-born bil-

lionaire who made his fortune at Alibaba, a

Chinese e-commerce giant, published an

open letter suggesting boundaries for ac-

ceptable speech about China. He implied

that Mr Morey had endorsed a “separatist

movement” in Hong Kong, which Mr Tsai

called a “third-rail” issue. All “1.4bn Chi-

nese citizens stand united when it comes

to the territorial integrity of China”, Mr Tsai

wrote. “This issue is non-negotiable.”

China is by far the nba’s most important

international market, with as many as

500m people watching at least one nba

game last season. nbaexecutives and play-

ers quickly tried to react as many business-

es with a big China audience have done in

the past, by distancing themselves from

the perceived offence. Tilman Fertitta, the

owner of the Rockets, said that Mr Morey

did not speak for the team. Backtracking,

Mr Morey later said that he “was merely

voicing one thought, based on one inter-

pretation, of one complicated event”.

James Harden, the Rockets’ superstar,

whose popularity in China increases the

value of his endorsement deals, apologised

in a television interview. “We love China,”

he said. The nbaissued a statement that it

was “regrettable” that Mr Morey had “deep-

ly offended” the league’s fans in China. A

Chinese version of the nba’s statement

went further, saying the league was “ex-

tremely disappointed” by Mr Morey’s “in-

appropriate remarks”.

Self-censoring to make money in China

is a long-standing business practice. The

most obvious example is Hollywood,

where studios steer clear of any topics in

their films that would upset Chinese au-

thorities, so that they can maintain access

to the world’s second-largest market. But

virtually all foreign businesses operating

in China have long self-censored in a more

subtle, pernicious way, by never speaking

publicly about any issue the Communist

Party deems off-limits. Business leaders

know they are expected to keep silent

about the internment of as many as 1m Ui-

ghurs in Xinjiang (where the nbaoperates

a training academy, opened in 2016).

The Morey episode shows it is getting

trickier for businesses to navigate between

expectations in America, where outcry is

growing over China’s authoritarian tactics,

and the ever-tougher demands of China

under Xi Jinping. Adam Silver, the nba’s

commissioner, having taken flak over the

nba’s spineless initial response, clarified

his support for free speech, saying “the nba

will not put itself in a position of regulating

what players, employees and team owners

say.” That may be true for the nba, which

has a tradition of supporting free speech

for its stars. It also still earns most of its

money in America. But China’s fierce reac-

tion to Mr Morey’s tweet is certain to in-

duce more self-censorship by executives in

the future. And when they choose not to

speak at all, few will take note. 7

OAKLAND AND BEIJING

China’s Communist Party dunks on the

National Basketball Association

Offending China

Alley-oops

Houston, we have a problem

and make the stonewalling part of an ob-

struction charge. Yet Democrats would

rather take more time in the hope of sway-

ing public opinion, which seems to be

moving their way (see Lexington). If they

impeach the president on what sounds like

a technicality, and before conducting a full

inquiry, it would be easier for Senate Re-

publicans to defend him.

That may explain the White House’s

strategy. Reasoning that the House will

probably vote to impeach eventually, why

not get it over with now? As soon as the

House votes to impeach, control of both

the procedure and the news cycle will shift

from Ms Pelosi and House Democrats to

Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans.

By the time voters head to the polls next

year, impeachment would be old news.

And it will have been more than a year since

the president’s lawyer affirmed in writing

that seeking intervention from a foreign

government in an American election “was

completely appropriate”. 7

2