Sonny Bill Williams follows Mesut Ozil in support for Uygurs on social media
- Former All Blacks star writes that ‘it’s a sad time time when we choose economic benefits over humanity’
- Comments sure to anger Beijing after Arsenal midfielder was accused of being ‘deceived by fake news’ by Foreign Ministry
New Zealand’s dual-code rugby star Sonny Bill Williams has tweeted his support for the ethnically Muslim Uygurs in China in a tweet posted early on Monday.
“It’s a sad time when we choose economic benefits over humanity #Uyghurs”, Williams wrote. The message accompanied an image depicting Chinese oppression against the Muslim minority group, which is alleged to include millions being held in re-education camps.
The 34-year-old, who retired from the All Blacks after the Rugby World Cup in Japan earlier this year before last month signing a deal to return to rugby league with the Toronto Wolfpack, had posted about the Uygurs on December 19.
Williams converted to Islam in 2009 and was the first Muslim to represent the All Blacks. “I’m for justice no matter who it’s for or who it’s against and I’m for the truth no matter who speaks it,” is the description in his Twitter bio.
That initial December 19 tweet was just “#PrayforUyghur” hashtag and three emojis.
Williams’ comments follow those of Arsenal footballer Mesut Ozil, a German Muslim of Turkish descent, last week.
Ozil’s social media posts about global silence on the persecution of the Uygur population of northwestern China’s Xinjiang region raised a response from the Chinese foreign ministry.
“I don’t know if Mr Ozil has been to Xinjiang. But his eyes seems to have been covered by some fake news and his judgment affected by falsehoods,” spokesman Geng Shuang said. He also invited Ozil to the region to see it first hand.
The playmaker was also removed from the Chinese version of the Pro Evolution Soccer video game. Fans also burned the player’s Arsenal shirts, which are no longer available to buy on online marketplace Taobao or in the official Adidas stores in the country.
Ozil has lost followers on his Weibo account, where he has not posted since December 11. He did not post his comments about the Uygur on his Chinese social media. The club responded with a post on Weibo, where it has more than five million followers, distancing itself from the player’s comments.
There was no immediate response to Williams’ comments from Chinese media or Beijing officials, although rugby is much less popular than football in China.
It also lacks the commercial ties of English Premier League clubs or the NBA, who experienced their own crisis in October after a pro-Hong Kong protest tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
China had expressed an interest in qualifying for the Rugby World Cup in 2000. Then chief of the Chinese Rugby Football Association Li Gaochao told the The Daily Telegraph they aimed to qualify within a decade, a milestone that came and went.
Premiership rugby union has been broadcast by CCTV’s digital sports channel since 2017 but there is little to no coverage of rugby league.
Earlier this year, World Rugby announced the end of a US$100 million, 10-year programme launched with Alibaba in 2016 to develop rugby in China. World Rugby head Brett Gosper said it was no longer viable. “We are no longer working with Alibaba,” Gosper said, and after a long pause, added: “There you go.”
Response to Williams’ tweet on Twitter was largely supportive.
