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In China, Airbnb is accused of making money in Tibet and Xinjiang, regions that have suffered human rights abuses. The non-governmental organization Free Tibet accuses the American platform of renting accommodation in the neighborhoods emptied by Beijing.
Airbnb, protests Free Tibet, rented 700 homes left vacant by repression in Tibet and Xinjiang to tourists from the Beijing Winter Olympics which ended on Sunday. The NGO also accuses him of not having boycotted these gamesdespite calls from associations for the defense of freedoms.
For years indeed China suppresses ethnic Uyghur Muslims and has locked up more than a million such people in camps. Several countries, including United Statesmarked the occasion during these Olympic Games, sending their athletes, but no official manager.
Airbnb, one of the main funders of the IOC
The American giant is one of the biggest funders of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). His sponsorship extends through 2028 and he’s bringing in $500 million, according to the Financial Times. Airbnb connects homeowners with travelers and takes a commission in the process. It derives 1% of its revenue from China, which helped boost its turnover by 25% last year compared to 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
If he does not defend the Uyghur cause, the listed company supports, among others, that of Black Lives Mattermovement against racism in the United States.