Chamath Palihapitiya

Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya is Under Fire for saying that he - and most Americans - " don't care" about abuses against the Uyghur minority in China.

Mr Palihapitiya, a part-owner of San Francisco 's basketball team, made the comments during a podcast discussion of whether President Joe Biden 's action on the issue had helped him politically.

The remarks drew Social Media backlash.

Mr Palihapitiya later admitted that his comments " lacked empathy".

In a statement intended to clarify his stance, He Said " important issues deserve important discussions".

" I believe that Human Rights matter, whether in China, the United States , or elsewhere, " he wrote on Twitter.

Many people following the issue were not satisfied.

" When people apologise, they deserve a Second Chance . I don't view this as an apology when Chamath can not even acknowledge how his comment was hurtful to the Uyghur community, " Human Rights lawyer Rayhan Asat wrote on Twitter. " China takes comfort knowing that corporate executives have their back and will continue this genocide. "

The US has accused China of genocide in its repression of the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region - a charge that China has repeatedly rejected.

Last Year , Mr Biden signed into law new rules that require companies to prove that goods imported from the area were not made with " forced labour".

Mr Palihapitiya, an early executive at Facebook and now a prominent Venture Capitalist , is co-host of the " All-in" podcast on which he made the remarks. He was responding to his co-host's observation that Mr Biden's stance on the issue had not helped him in the polls.

" Let's be honest, nobody, nobody cares about what's happening to the Uyghurs, okay? You bring it up because you really care. And I think that's really nice that you care But . . The rest of us don't care. I'm just telling you a very Hard Truth , " He Said .

Boston Celtics Forward Enes Kanter , who has been outspoken about Human Rights issues and campaigned on behalf of the forced Labour Law , was among those condemning the comments.

" When genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen, " he wrote.

In a statement, the Golden State Warriors basketball team distanced itself from Mr Palihapitiya, who owns 10% of The Team , calling him a " limited investor with no day-to-day operating functions".

" Mr Palihapitiya does not speak on behalf of our franchise and his views certainly don't reflect those of our organization" The Team said.

Source of news: bbc.com