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.
Brother of possible OJ Simpson accomplice claims he returned with bloody hands on night of murders: report
Obama backs Ilhan Omar amid probe, accuses Trump admin of ‘appalling’ targeting in lengthy statement
Breaking: Airman Dies in Front of Tens of Thousands in Tragic Navy-UTSA Football Game Accident After Falling from Rafters
James Talarico’s adoptive father linked to X account mocking Christianity and women
Fauci Diary Entry Complains Trump Pushed Lab-Leak Theory ‘With No Evidence’
Cyberattack Turns Hundreds of Grocery Coolers Into Saunas – Dozens of US Military Stores Faced Similar, Unexplained Attack
Saudi National Caught by FBI Hiding Bug in Toilet Paper to Steal AI Secrets: Report
The nine key races that will decide who controls the Senate, and where they stand
Trump tries different approach with Russia to bring Americans relief amid ongoing war with Ukraine
WATCH: Virginia cops crawl through burning house to save man trapped in fire
House panel warns Singham-linked nonprofits: Comply with subpoenas or face Congress
Lawsuit Accuses McDonald’s of AI Scheme to Nickel-And-Dime Customers ‘Down to the Last French Fry’
Even NBC Admits It: Trump Rallies Are Galvanizing Voters, Could Impact Midterms in Battleground States
Talarico’s Texas-sized opening: Paxton can’t unite Republican vote
Mamdani praised over move to dismantle controversial NYC industry — but insiders say there’s more to the story
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.
Brother of possible OJ Simpson accomplice claims he returned with bloody hands on night of murders: report
Obama backs Ilhan Omar amid probe, accuses Trump admin of ‘appalling’ targeting in lengthy statement
Breaking: Airman Dies in Front of Tens of Thousands in Tragic Navy-UTSA Football Game Accident After Falling from Rafters
James Talarico’s adoptive father linked to X account mocking Christianity and women
Fauci Diary Entry Complains Trump Pushed Lab-Leak Theory ‘With No Evidence’
Cyberattack Turns Hundreds of Grocery Coolers Into Saunas – Dozens of US Military Stores Faced Similar, Unexplained Attack
Saudi National Caught by FBI Hiding Bug in Toilet Paper to Steal AI Secrets: Report
The nine key races that will decide who controls the Senate, and where they stand
Trump tries different approach with Russia to bring Americans relief amid ongoing war with Ukraine
WATCH: Virginia cops crawl through burning house to save man trapped in fire
House panel warns Singham-linked nonprofits: Comply with subpoenas or face Congress
Lawsuit Accuses McDonald’s of AI Scheme to Nickel-And-Dime Customers ‘Down to the Last French Fry’
Even NBC Admits It: Trump Rallies Are Galvanizing Voters, Could Impact Midterms in Battleground States
Talarico’s Texas-sized opening: Paxton can’t unite Republican vote
Mamdani praised over move to dismantle controversial NYC industry — but insiders say there’s more to the story
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.
