Mr Grant F. Reid
Chief Executive Officer, Mars, Incorporated
6885 Elm Street, Mclean, Virginia
22101, U.S.

26 January 2021

Dear Mr Reid,

We, a coalition of over 149 global campaign groups, are writing this letter to raise our serious concerns that Mars Wrigley’s brand Snickers have signed on as official sponsor for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, and to urge you to carefully reconsider this decision and immediately cancel the sponsorship.

In just over a year the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will open. According to the Chinese authorities, this prestigious event will be “open” and “inclusive”, create a “harmonious world” and promote “social progress”. But for those living under China’s rule the reality is far from inclusive, open and harmonious; instead daily life is characterized by a brutal crackdown on cultural diversity, a tearing apart of community cohesion and closed doors to human rights monitors and international media who have been desperately trying to document the worsening crackdown. 

As you will no doubt be aware, the human rights situation for those living under China’s rule has reached an unprecedented low. The situation in occupied Tibet has dramatically deteriorated and in January 2020, for the fifth year in a row, it was listed as the second worst place in the world for civil and political rights after only Syria. At least two million Muslims – including Uyghurs, Kazakhs and Uzbeks – are locked in “re-education camps” undergoing systematic torture and political re-education. Imagining a world in which they are able to watch, let alone even participate in, the Winter Olympics is virtually impossible.

The Chinese government’s lack of openness and commitment to societal progress has been further exemplified by its crackdown in Hong Kong, where Beijing has implemented a draconian National Security Bill for Hong Kong that bans acts of “splittism, subversion, foreign intervention, and terrorism”, in its latest effort to curtail any remaining human rights of those living under Chinese rule. Meanwhile, China continues to jail more journalists than any other country in the world, making it difficult to reconcile the Chinese government’s claims that the Games will be characterised by a spirit of ‘openness.’ 

A letter from Human Rights Watch to the International Olympic Committee recently raised the fact that the 2022 Games will take place in a human rights environment significantly worse than that of 2008 when the Chinese government repeatedly backtracked on the human rights pledges it made to secure the right to host the Games.

As groups dedicated to the protection of human rights and best business practices, we applaud the company’s strong public endorsement of human rights policies and practice and commitment to “building strong human rights partnerships”. Unfortunately, the government of China is not a viable or qualified candidate for such a partnership, and Mars Wrigley should not side step those values to reap the financial rewards that come with sponsoring a major sporting event that is taking place in such a repressive environment. 

We urge you to immediately cancel your sponsorship of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, or risk being tainted by association. By terminating this agreement, Mars Wrigley has an opportunity to send a clear message that it will not tolerate dealing with governments that profit from occupation, genocide and human rights violations and to make a real difference to the lives of those living under Beijing’s tight grip.

We request the opportunity to meet with you and other representatives of Mars Wrigley to discuss our serious concerns regarding the situation facing Tibetan, Uyghur, Hong Kong, Southern Mongolian and Chinese activists. Please contact Mandie McKeown at mandie@tibetnetwork.org to discuss arranging this meeting.

Yours sincerely,

Mandie McKeown – Executive Director, International Tibet Network – on behalf 

Dolkun Isa, World Uyghur Congress
Dorjee Tseten, Students for a Free Tibet
Rushan Abbas, Campaign for Uyghurs
Frances Hui,  WeThe HongKongers
Omer Kanat, Uyghur Human Rights Project
Jenny Wang,  Keep Taiwan Free
Teng Biao, China Against the Death Penalty 周锋锁
Zhou Fengsuo, Humanitarian China
John Jones, Free Tibet
Zoe Bedford, Australia Tibet Council
Enghebatu Togochog, Southern Mongolian Human Rights Center
Tashi Shitsetsang, Tibetan Youth Association Europe
Mattias Bjornerstedt, Swedish Tibet Committee

and the following organisations: