Starbucks isn’t the only Western company to face criticism for operating in Xinjiang. Hotel chains such as Hilton, IHG, Marriott and Wyndham are similarly accused of “legitimising” the alleged abuses in the region. “It is unconscionable that these hotel chains continue to operate and expand in the Uyghur region at a time when the Chinese government is carrying out systematic atrocities,” Peter Irwin from the Uyghur Human Rights Project, an advocacy group, said last year. “There’s absolutely no way that these multibillion-dollar corporations can operate responsibly in this environment. Their presence alone normalises and legitimises these abuses.