Congressman: Coca-Cola ‘Defensive’ About Loyalties to China

Rep. Buddy Carter has a question for Coca-Cola executives: “Why do black lives matter here in America, but in China Muslim Uyghur lives don’t matter?”

Following a confrontational January letter to the soft drink giant’s CEO James Quincey (pictured above) — co-signed by 24 Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee — Carter, the panel’s sole Georgia representative, said he had a “frank discussion” with officials of the Atlanta-based company.

Carter told Fox News he called out the Coca-Cola’s double standard: speaking out on alleged injustices in America, while remaining silent about China’s horrific human rights abuses.

Coca-Cola, which for years has aggressively pursued a business relationship with the communist regime, is an official sponsor of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

From FoxNews.com:

Coca-Cola’s participation in the Beijing Olympics as one of the top sponsors has been routinely questioned by critics as China continues its ethnic cleansing of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. The criticism is compounded by the company’s persistent commentary on U.S. political issues.

 

While remaining silent on human rights abuses in China, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey openly criticized Georgia’s election security law. “This legislation is wrong and needs to be remedied, and we will continue to advocate for it both in private and now even more clearly in public,” the executive previously said. In addition, Quincey released a strongly worded statement on behalf of the company, expressing “disappointment” at the failure of the bill.

 

Carter says their domestic activism doesn’t hold up to scrutiny in the context of their larger markets.

 

“They inserted themselves into Black Lives Matter. They inserted themselves into the Election Integrity Act in the state of Georgia. And they made such a big deal about both of them being wrong –  and they have the right to do that,” Carter said. “But if you’re gonna do that, I think it’s hypocritical to be a major sponsor of the Olympics in a country where you know this is going on, and you’re gonna turn a blind eye to it.”

 

“They were somewhat defensive as you can expect,” Carter continued.

National Legal and Policy Center owns stock in The Coca-Cola Company and will sponsor a shareholder resolution at this spring’s annual meeting that seeks to separate the roles of Chairman and CEO – both of which Quincey holds. The corporation’s board opposes our resolution.

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Tags: Black Lives Matter, Buddy Carter, China, Coca-Cola, human rights, James Quincey, Olympics, Uyghurs