{
  "id": 12475783,
  "title": "Can’t Uygurs drink Starbucks and taste American freedom?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/cant-uygurs-drink-starbucks-and-taste-american-freedom",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-06T21:30:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3369691/cant-uygurs-drink-starbucks-and-taste-american-freedom"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "U.S. Representative John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, has expressed shock and moral outrage over Starbucks opening stores in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Moolenaar claims that Starbucks is implicitly supporting the Chinese Communist Party's genocidal campaign against Uygurs and other minorities. However, the same congressman has been a staunch supporter of Israel, even as the U.S. prepares to sell it 60,000 heavy bombs. These bombs have been used in the recent Gaza war, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths and the displacement of millions. Critics argue that Moolenaar's outrage over Starbucks is hypocritical, given his support for weapons that have directly caused immense human suffering.",
  "summary": "“Morally bankrupt”? Was Michigan Republican John Moolenaar talking about himself? Last week, the chairman of the House Select Committee on China demanded that Starbucks “immediately reverse course and close its stores”. The coffee chain’s crime? It opened two stores in Urumqi – the capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region – in the city centre’s Grand Bazaar and its international airport. The…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}