How long can the league maintain its juggling act of embracing progressive causes in the U.S. while turning a blind eye in China?
On Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, the official Weibo account of the Los Angeles Lakers posted a message teasing the team’s upcoming preseason games in Shanghai and Shenzhen, along with photos of the two cities’ skylines. “Welcome to China, Old James!” one Weibo user responded, using an affectionate name for Lakers star LeBron James. Others scrounged for tickets, which, given the wild popularity of the NBA and one of its most beloved teams in China, were selling for as much as $2,675.
That same
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Bob Fu's relationship with China has gone through phases. First, he thought money would solve his problems there; then he joined protesters at Tiananmen Square, thinking the politics could change. In the end, he determined, only God could save China, and he's been fighting for religious freedom in China ever since he resettled in Texas. With his nonprofit, ChinaAid, prospering like never before, he says the U.S. is finally catching on.
A podcast about how the two nations, once friends, are now foes.
Hear why things are so complicated now. Host Jane Perlez, former New York Times Beijing bureau chief, talks with diplomats, spies, cultural superstars like Yo Yo Ma, and more to understand why the dangers are so high, and why relations went awry.