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.
Jayapal tells murder victims’ parents Congress has other things to do
West Coast state sheriff’s bait bike sting snares dozens of alleged thieves in just months
Mamdani walks back plan to increase NYPD headcount following DSA pressure
Road to America 250 starts with Ford: Exhibit at Union Station shows off iconic vehicles
Government watchdog targets ‘weapons of mass reproduction’ after Supreme Court ruling
Court keeps ‘Decoy Dan’ on Alaska ballot as expert warns ranked-choice system creates voter ‘traps’
Military Leaders Brief Trump on Plan for Full-Scale War in Iran: Report
Judge Frees Punks Accused of Brutalizing Elderly Man Who Dared Stand Up for Pregnant Woman – Welcome to Mamdani’s Paradise
RNC chair predicts first-ever midterm convention will turn Dallas into ‘Trumpapalooza’ for 2026 fight
WATCH: Obama, Harris advisor warns ‘betrayed’ Black voters could be Texas Senate candidate’s kryptonite
PHOTOS: Trump debuts new Air Force One plane from Qatar
Taylor Swift’s wedding secrecy went so far some guests still didn’t know location days before ceremony: source
Smarter Systems, Safer Missions: AI, Autonomy and the Warfighter
Prominent Attorneys Form Team Aimed at Overturning Karmelo Anthony’s Murder Conviction
Alert: Names Will Be Named – House Adopts Massive Resolution on Sexual Misconduct Slush Fund Recipients
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.
Jayapal tells murder victims’ parents Congress has other things to do
West Coast state sheriff’s bait bike sting snares dozens of alleged thieves in just months
Mamdani walks back plan to increase NYPD headcount following DSA pressure
Road to America 250 starts with Ford: Exhibit at Union Station shows off iconic vehicles
Government watchdog targets ‘weapons of mass reproduction’ after Supreme Court ruling
Court keeps ‘Decoy Dan’ on Alaska ballot as expert warns ranked-choice system creates voter ‘traps’
Military Leaders Brief Trump on Plan for Full-Scale War in Iran: Report
Judge Frees Punks Accused of Brutalizing Elderly Man Who Dared Stand Up for Pregnant Woman – Welcome to Mamdani’s Paradise
RNC chair predicts first-ever midterm convention will turn Dallas into ‘Trumpapalooza’ for 2026 fight
WATCH: Obama, Harris advisor warns ‘betrayed’ Black voters could be Texas Senate candidate’s kryptonite
PHOTOS: Trump debuts new Air Force One plane from Qatar
Taylor Swift’s wedding secrecy went so far some guests still didn’t know location days before ceremony: source
Smarter Systems, Safer Missions: AI, Autonomy and the Warfighter
Prominent Attorneys Form Team Aimed at Overturning Karmelo Anthony’s Murder Conviction
Alert: Names Will Be Named – House Adopts Massive Resolution on Sexual Misconduct Slush Fund Recipients
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.
