Guys can some1 give me tldr for why someone should boycott EWC? what i've seen so far because saudi has infinite money glitch and want to monopolize gaming industry but it doesnt click with me
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EWC is funded directly by the Saudi government as an attempt to make the country more involved in media and appeal more to tourism. This same thing is happening in conventional sports like football. People aren't boycotting EWC because its held in Saudi Arabia, thats a misconception I often see. People are boycotting EWC because its directly funded by an authoritarian regime. The same people giving EWC their prize pool are the same people that order journalists and LGBT people to be stoned to d**th.
The countrys legislation is also all sorts of fucked up, for example there is a "guardian ship system" where essentially every woman citizen in Saudi Arabia has to have a male guardian. The guardian ship system got toned down a bit in 2019, but saudi women still to this day need their "male guardians" approval to:
- Leave prison
- Marry
- Divorce
- or exit a domestic abuse shelter.
Saudi government also cracks down on protesters very heavily. For example womens rights activists in the country get immediately categorized as terrorists, and speaking for them or protecting them also gets you categorized as a terrorist. Many activists get over ten year long prison sentences without any previous violations due to their status as "terrorists." Even internet activism is heavily monitored, you could have a relatively small like 300 follower twitter account, and if you even retweet something about womens rights activism in the country, you could get the saudi feds on your front door.
TLDR: bad people who do bad things fund a tournament not to seem so bad.
youre almost correct, the difference is, that saudi is doing this in the present. also im not sure if the CCP is directly funding riot events, but if you do find something about it can you link it cause im interested
edit: for example i didnt watch shanghai partly due to the chinese gov but also partly due to military service
CCP is also as bad if not worse. CCP does not have direct control over riot but they do for Tencent - any based Chinese-based companies are nationally-owned companies - meaning CCP has its shares and indirectly can claim they own the company outright due to it being communist - see Alibaba - CCP invest heaps in Tencent due to it being telecommunications
So any censorship, any blockage of telecommunications and now they are doing more medical related stuff, tencent is aware of that too so they are as guilty asa facilitator but understandably they also have no control. Injustices in CN is crazy especially with the southwestern CN or silencing anyone who speaks up.
By correlation, riot as a branch of tencent to bypass the ban of tencent, while not involve in politics, is similar in function of the whole EWC, to paint a good picture for themselves
This is coming from someone who's born in HK and lived there for the first 18 urs of my life
You bring up some may very real and serious concerns about Saudi
But at the same time, esports is esports and politics is politics. Why are we suddenly mixing up thing all of sudden ? Esports has always been a global scene with messy funding behind the scenes teams backed by crypto billionaires, betting site, mafia match. etc
Are we vetting every event, every sponsor, every venue the same way? Or are we selectively applying outrage? The question becomes: where do we draw the line?
I'm not boycotting EWC, but what you said makes no sense and people have valid reasons to boycott it.
- Saudi Arabia is far worse than China from an ethical point of view. They don't "do the same thing".
- The CCP isn't funding Riot, or Tencent. Likewise, Tencent/Riot isn't funding the CCP, unlike the EWC.
- The CCP isn't using Riot to cover up their actions or sportswashing.
- Riot employees can criticize China. EWC sponsored teams and individuals involved with the events cannot.
Tencent, a Chinese tech giant founded in 1998, has been under scrutiny for its close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In October 2023, the Chinese government took a "golden share" in a domestic subsidiary of Tencent, indicating increased control over the tech sector by the CCP. This move suggests that Tencent's operations and financial activities may be influenced by the Chinese government's policies and goals.
Tencent's CEO and co-founder, Ma Huateng, is a member of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's national parliament, which further links the company to the CCP. Critics argue that Tencent is not independent of the CCP and serves its goals with every purchase, silence, and promotion.
idk im not boycotting it, just gave reasons people are. i think what hits the boycotting crowd the most is how riot as a company emphasizes inclusivity and stuff but then goes on to sign with EWC. Also whats mixing esports and politics is the funding that comes directly from the saudi government.
personally I’ll watch what i can, but i can still be aware of what is behind the scene
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