Donald Trump signs bill to punish China for crackdown on Uighurs & other ethnic minorities

Amid sensational claims by ex-National Security Adviser John Bolton in his new book that US President Donald Trump attempted to secure reelection with help of Chinese president Xi Jinping, Trump signed legislation that seeks to punish China for its crackdown on ethnic mirities. This comes in contrast to claims made by Bolton as he alleged in his book that Trump in a private conversation agreed to support  brutal campaign of China against Uighur Muslims in return of help for reelection.

In a statement issued Wednesday afteron, White House said that Trump signed Uighur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 and said that it “holds accountable perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses such as systematic use of indoctrination camps, forced labor, and intrusive surveillance to eradicate ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uyghurs and or mirities in China.” 

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bill includes sanctions on Chinese officials directly involved in crackdown. It would impose sanctions on specific Chinese officials, such as Communist Party official who oversees government policy in Xinjiang.  legislation requires U.S. government to report to Congress on human rights violations in Xinjiang as well as China’s acquisition of techlogy used for mass detention and surveillance. It also requires American authorities to look into pervasive reports of harassment and threats of Uighurs and or Chinese nationals in United States.

China has publicly brushed away criticism of its crackdown in Xinjiang, which it launched in 2014 as “Strike Hard Against Violent Extremism” campaign in vast resource-rich territory in far rthwest of country.

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Uighur activists call it an important step

Meanwhile, Uighur activists see approval as an important step as it is  first time any government has sought to punish China for a campaign of mass surveillance and detention of Uighurs and or mostly Muslim ethnic groups in western Xinjiang region. “Globally this should be a model for or counties who have been very lukewarm in ir response to ongoing atrocities in Uighur region," said Nury Turkel, a Uighur activist and member of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Members of Congress intended legislation to increase pressure on China over crackdown in Xinjiang, where authorities have detained more than a million people — from ethnic groups that include Uighurs, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz — in a vast network of detention centers. Many have been subjected to torture and forced labor and deprived of adequate food and medical treatment.

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relation between US and China is already tensed because of trade war and as Donald Trump has blamed Xi JInping's administration for hiding truth about Coronavirus from world.  tense relations with China amid Trump administration's criticism of Beijing's response to outbreak of coronavirus. signing came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was meeting in Hawaii.

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(with AP inputs)