The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to toughen Washington’s position against China regarding its treatment of minority Uighurs, calling on President Donald Trump to apply sanctions against senior Chinese officials.
The Uighur Act of 2019 condemns Beijing’s “gross human rights violations” linked to the crackdown in the western region of Xinjiang, where as many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in re-education camps.
The measure, which passed 407 to 1, is a stronger version of the bill that cleared the Senate in September. The two versions must be reconciled into one bill that gets sent to Trump’s desk.
The vote is sure to draw China’s ire. Beijing has already threatened retaliation against Washington for Trump signing legislation last week supporting Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters, just as the world’s top two economies edge towards a trade truce.
The latest House measure condemns the mass arbitrary detainment of Uighurs and calls for closure of the re-education camps where they have been held and abused, according to rights groups and US lawmakers.
Appeals court sets September hearing over dismissal of James Comey and Letitia James cases
Watch: The Time Gingrich Nailed Turncoat Megyn Kelly’s Clinton vs Trump Hypocrisy – ‘I Dare You – Say “Bill Clinton Sexual Predator”‘
Israeli Knesset dissolves after overnight legislative blitz, elections set for October
MAGA Declares Fox News Has ‘Joined the Fake Media’ After ‘Strange’ Coverage of Trump’s Big Speech
Democrat scrambles to meet Angel Mom after she blasts lawmakers to their faces for ignoring families’ pleas
Socialist-backed Dem who ripped the wealthy cracks state’s top 1%, tax returns show
Tyler Robinson’s father runs thriving hometown business as taxpayers face possible $10M defense bill: report
‘Today’ show security guard fired after intruder enters unauthorized area, targets Craig Melvin: report
Trump Admin Notifies States ‘Whose Election Data Was Compromised’ by China
US Forces Pound Key Targets, Iranians Respond by Hitting Kuwait’s Water Supply, Firing Missiles at Qatar
State Department fires back after Walz doubles down on pardon of convicted child rapist
Controversial ICE tactic actually reduces unintended ‘collateral’ arrests: federal agent
Trump’s team talked him out of making ‘crazier’ claims in voting security speech: Report
Jack Smith’s legacy under scrutiny as questions mount over Trump case tactics
Fed is laser-focused on inflation drop, Warsh says
The bill notably urges Trump to slap sanctions on Chinese officials behind the Uighur policy, including Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party chief for Xinjiang.
“Today the human dignity and human rights of the Uighur community are under threat from Beijing’s barbarous actions, which are an outrage to the collective conscience of the world,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her colleagues shortly before the vote.
Congress “is taking a critical step to counter Beijing’s horrific human rights abuses against Uighurs,” she said.
“America is watching.”
Pelosi lashed out at Chinese authorities for orchestrating a repressive crackdown that includes pervasive mass state surveillance, solitary confinement, beatings, forced sterilization “and other forms of torture.”
Rights groups and witnesses accuse China of forcibly trying to draw Uighurs away from their Islamic customs and integrate them into the majority Han culture.
After initially denying their existence, Beijing now defends the camps, which it calls “vocational education centers,” as a necessary measure to counter religious extremism and terrorism.
Appeals court sets September hearing over dismissal of James Comey and Letitia James cases
Watch: The Time Gingrich Nailed Turncoat Megyn Kelly’s Clinton vs Trump Hypocrisy – ‘I Dare You – Say “Bill Clinton Sexual Predator”‘
Israeli Knesset dissolves after overnight legislative blitz, elections set for October
MAGA Declares Fox News Has ‘Joined the Fake Media’ After ‘Strange’ Coverage of Trump’s Big Speech
Democrat scrambles to meet Angel Mom after she blasts lawmakers to their faces for ignoring families’ pleas
Socialist-backed Dem who ripped the wealthy cracks state’s top 1%, tax returns show
Tyler Robinson’s father runs thriving hometown business as taxpayers face possible $10M defense bill: report
‘Today’ show security guard fired after intruder enters unauthorized area, targets Craig Melvin: report
Trump Admin Notifies States ‘Whose Election Data Was Compromised’ by China
US Forces Pound Key Targets, Iranians Respond by Hitting Kuwait’s Water Supply, Firing Missiles at Qatar
State Department fires back after Walz doubles down on pardon of convicted child rapist
Controversial ICE tactic actually reduces unintended ‘collateral’ arrests: federal agent
Trump’s team talked him out of making ‘crazier’ claims in voting security speech: Report
Jack Smith’s legacy under scrutiny as questions mount over Trump case tactics
Fed is laser-focused on inflation drop, Warsh says
The House bill would require the State Department to produce a report within one year on the crackdown in Xinjiang.
And it would require the Commerce Department to ban US exports to entities in Xinjiang that are known to be used in the detention or surveillance of Muslim minorities, including facial recognition technology.
Republican Marco Rubio, a sponsor of the legislation in the US Senate, warned that China’s government and Communist Party “is working to systematically wipe out the ethnic and cultural identities” of Uighurs.
He applauded the House passage and said he looked forward to getting a reconciled bill to Trump’s desk.
Story cited here.
