US Congress approves China sanctions over crackdown on Uighurs and other ethnic groups

Congress voted Wednesday to toughen U.S. response to a brutal Chinese crackdown on ethnic mirities, adding ar factor to increasingly stormy relationship between two countries. House passed a bipartisan bill that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials involved in mass surveillance and detention of Uighurs and or ethnic groups in western Xianjiang region, a campaign that has drawn muted international response because of China’s influence around world.

measure already passed Senate and needs a signature from President Donald Trump, who said this week he’ll “very strongly” consider it amid U.S. anger over China’s handling of coronavirus outbreak and tension over a Chinese plan to restrict civil liberties in Hong Kong. Both issues emerged, along with or sore points in China-U.S. relationship, as Republican and Democratic members of Congress spoke in support of bill. one spoke against it, and it passed by a 413-1 vote.

“Beijing’s barbarous actions targeting Uighur people are an outr to collective conscience of world,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a floor speech in support of bill.

It was first bill in history to pass with proxy votes after House Democrats, over Republican objections, adopted a measure allowing such votes in response to coronavirus outbreak. Congress late last year voted to condemn crackdown in Xianjiang, where Chinese authorities have detained more than a million people - from mostly Muslim ethnic groups that include Uighurs, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz — in a vast network of detention centers.

This new legislation is intended to increase pressure by imposing sanctions on specific Chinese officials, such as Communist Party official who oversees government policy in Xianjiang. legislation also requires U.S. government to report to Congress on violations of human rights in Xianjiang as well as China’s acquisition of techlogy used for mass detention and surveillance. It also provides for an assessment of pervasive reports of harassment and threats of Uighurs and or Chinese nationals in United States.

A provision that would have imposed export restrictions on surveillance and or equipment used in crackdown was initially passed in House but n stripped out in version that passed in Senate earlier this month. Despite limitations, legislation amounts to first concrete step by a government to penalize China over treatment of Uighurs since existence of mass internment camps became widely kwn in recent years, said Peter Irwin, a senior program officer at Uighur Human Rights Project.

“It signals that a member of international community is actually taking some steps to address problem,” Irwin said. “ legislation itself has to spur rest of international community, particularly European Union and or powerful blocs of states, to actually take this as a template and pass ir own legislation.”

Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican and chairman of House China Task Force, called what’s happening in Xianjiang a “cultural gecide” of Uighurs and or mostly Muslim ethnic groups. pass of bill with strong bipartisan support would “show Chinese Communist Party and entire world that ir treatment of Muslim Uighurs is inexcusable and will t be allowed without serious consequences,” McCaul said.

China has publicly brushed away criticism of its crackdown in Xianjiang, which it launched in 2014 as “Strike Hard Against Violent Extremism” in a vast resource-rich territory whose inhabitants are largely distinct, culturally and ethnically, from country’s Han Chinese majority.

Chinese government, when t bristling at criticism of what it sees as an internal matter, has also said detention camps are vocational training centers. Uighur activists and human rights groups have countered that many of those held are people with advanced degrees and business owners who are influential in ir communities and have need of any special education.

People held in internment camps have described being subjected to forced political indoctrination, torture, beatings, denial of food and medicine and say y have been prohibited from practicing ir religion or speaking ir langu. China has denied se accounts but refused to allow independent inspections.