China initially denied mass incarceration. (Representative)
Washington:
The US Congress on Wednesday authorized sanctions against Chinese officials for the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims, increasing pressure on another front in the troubled relationship between the Pacific powers.
The House of Representatives voted with a single dissent in favor of Uighur human rights law, the hours of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took a major step to push China over another major problem – the Hong Kong autonomy.
Rights groups say at least one million Uyghurs and other Turkish Muslims in northwest China’s northwest China have been imprisoned in camps during ‘a massive brainwashing campaign with few modern parallels.
“If America does not denounce human rights (violations) in China because of a commercial interest, then we lose all moral authority to denounce human rights violations anywhere in the world “said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The message was bipartisan with Michael McCaul, the main Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accusing China of “state-sponsored cultural genocide”.
Beijing wants to “completely eradicate an entire culture simply because it does not correspond to what the Chinese Communist Party considers” Chinese “,” said McCaul.
“We cannot sit back and allow this to continue,” he said. “Our silence will be accomplice and our inaction will be our appeasement.”
Legislation obliges the US administration to determine which Chinese officials are responsible for the “arbitrary detention, torture and harassment” of Uighurs and other minorities.
The United States would then freeze all assets held by the authorities in the world‘s largest economy and prohibit their entry into the country.
The law specifically mentions Chen Quanguo, the leader of the Communist Party in Xinjiang. Previously displayed in Tibet, Chen has built a reputation for repression against reluctant minorities.
China denounces “smears”
China initially denied mass incarceration, but has since described the camps as vocational training centers aimed at deterring Islamic radicalism.
After an earlier version of the law passed in December, the Chinese foreign ministry accused the United States of hypocrisy in its own “counterterrorism” efforts.
“This bill deliberately stifles the human rights situation in Xinjiang, slanders China’s efforts to deradicalize and combat terrorism, and violently attacks the policies of the Chinese government in Xinjiang,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying, urging the United States to suspend the law.
Trump can veto the law. But Congress could easily override its veto.
Last year, Trump hesitated to sign another law that angered China, which sought to save Hong Kong’s autonomy, but went ahead despite overwhelming support from Congress.
The House of Representatives adopted a stricter version of the law that would restrict exports of technology involved in mass surveillance of Uyghurs, as critics fear a new dystopian model with Beijing to follow each minority movement.
The Republican-led Senate removed the export provision to ensure unanimous passage, leaving Trump to handle technological issues in his long trade war with Asian power.
Last week, the Commerce Department imposed sanctions on eight Chinese companies and an institute believed to be an accomplice to the persecution of Uighurs and other minorities, including through surveillance.
The final version of the bill also requires a classified report from US intelligence services on Xinjiang as well as an FBI-led study of China’s alleged efforts to target American citizens and residents of Uyghur heritage.
Rubio and a Democrat, Representative James McGovern, introduced separate legislation that would ban all exports from Xinjiang, a major supplier of cotton.
Lawmakers say that forced labor is so prevalent in Xinjiang that it is impossible to guarantee that local products are free from slavery.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
