This action took place about two years ago but reportedly wasn’t covered until Reuters released a “special report” on Friday. In its report, the outlet wrote that the government demand was prompted after a negative review was posted.
In addition to this approach, additional information obtained by Reuters showed that the company partnered with “an arm of China’s propaganda apparatus” to create a selling portal on its American website, with the project being coined as “China Books.” Reuters reported that the company saw this move as “crucial to winning support” in the country.
Many of the books sold through this project are apolitical, such as pieces on Chinese cooking, language, and children’s stories. However, others “amplify the Communist Party’s official line,” Reuters wrote. One book promotes life in Xinjiang where the United Nations reported that around 1 million Uyghurs work in forced labor camps. Reuters wrote that one book quoted a comedy actor who plays an Uyghur “country bumpkin” and said that ethnicity is “not a problem” there.
The United Nations’ news department wrote that “more than 150” Chinese and foreign companies are connected to “serious allegations of human rights abuses against” Uyghur workers that include “exploitative working and abusive living conditions.” While China has denied the claims, America has taken them seriously, instituting a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
“As a bookseller, we believe that providing access to the written word and diverse perspectives is important. That includes books that some may find objectionable, though we have policies governing which books can be listed for sale in every country and jurisdiction in which we operate.”
