BY JIANLI YANG AND LIANCHAO HAN, OPINION CONTRIBUTORS06/17/20 12:00 PM EDT
On May 27, the House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, voting overwhelmingly to sanction Chinese government officials responsible for internment camps in Xinjiang, where more than 1 million ethnic Muslims are forcibly detained. The legislation condemns the Chinese Communist Party for the detention centers and recommends a tougher response to human rights abuses suffered by Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities.
In a floor speech, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called out Beijing’s “barbarous actions” targeting the Uyghur people, calling the human rights abuses an outrage to the collective conscience of the world. She declared that the persecuted in Xinjiang are not forgotten, even though Chinese Communist officials might tell them they are. Once he signs the bill, President Trump will have 180 days to submit a report to Congress identifying Chinese nationals and government officials who are responsible for carrying out torture against the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz or other Muslims in China… [continue reading]