[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3744 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3744
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in
Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and
harassment of these communities inside and outside China.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Uyghur Human
Rights Policy Act of 2020''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Statement of purpose.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 5. Updating statement of United States policy toward the People's
Republic of China.
Sec. 6. Imposition of sanctions.
Sec. 7. Report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region.
Sec. 8. Report on protecting citizens and residents of the United
States from intimidation and coercion.
Sec. 9. Report on security and economic implications of repression in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by the
Government of the People's Republic of
China.
Sec. 10. Classified report.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to direct United States resources to
address human rights violations and abuses, including gross violations
of human rights, by the Government of the People's Republic of China
through the mass surveillance and internment of over 1,000,000 Uyghurs,
ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Government of the People's Republic of China has a
long history of repressing Turkic Muslims and other Muslim
minority groups, particularly Uyghurs, in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region. In recent decades, central and regional
Chinese government policies have systematically discriminated
against these minority groups by denying them a range of civil
and political rights, including the freedom of expression,
religion, and movement, and the right to a fair trial.
(2) In May 2014, the Government of the People's Republic of
China launched its latest ``Strike Hard Against Violent
Extremism'' campaign, using wide-scale, internationally-linked
threats of terrorism as a pretext to justify pervasive
restrictions on and serious human rights violations of members
of ethnic minority communities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region. The August 2016 appointment of former Tibet Autonomous
Region Party Secretary Chen Quanguo to be Party Secretary of
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region accelerated the crackdown
across the region. Scholars, human rights organizations,
journalists, and think tanks have provided ample evidence
substantiating the establishment by the Government of the
People's Republic of China of internment camps. Since 2014, the
Government of the People's Republic of China has detained more
than 1,000,000 Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of
other Muslim minority groups in these camps. The total ethnic
minority population of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region was
approximately 13,000,000 at the time of the last census
conducted by the People's Republic of China in 2010.
(3) The Government of the People's Republic of China's
actions against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of
other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region violate international human rights laws and norms,
including--
(A) the International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which the
People's Republic of China has acceded;
(B) the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which the
People's Republic of China has signed and ratified;
(C) the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which the People's Republic of China
has signed; and
(D) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
(4) Senior Chinese Communist Party officials, including
current Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Party Secretary Chen
Quanguo, who executes Chinese government policy in the region,
and former Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Deputy Party
Secretary Zhu Hailun, who crafted many of the policies
implemented in the region, bear direct responsibility for gross
human rights violations committed against Uyghurs, ethnic
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups.
These abuses include the arbitrary detention of more than
1,000,000 Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other
Muslim minority groups, separation of working age adults from
children and the elderly, and the integration of forced labor
into supply chains.
(5) Those detained in internment camps in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region have described forced political
indoctrination, torture, beatings, food deprivation, and denial
of religious, cultural, and linguistic freedoms. These victims
have confirmed that they were told by guards that the only way
to secure their release was to demonstrate sufficient political
loyalty. Poor conditions and lack of medical treatment at such
facilities appear to have contributed to the deaths of some
detainees, including the elderly and infirm.
(6) Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs who have obtained permanent
residence or citizenship in other countries report being
subjected to threats and harassment from Chinese officials. At
least 5 journalists for Radio Free Asia's Uyghur service have
publicly detailed abuses their family members in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region have endured in response to their work
exposing the Government of the People's Republic of China's
abusive policies.
(7) In September 2018, United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted in her first speech as
High Commissioner the ``deeply disturbing allegations of large-
scale arbitrary detentions of Uighurs and other Muslim
communities, in so-called reeducation camps across Xinjiang''.
(8) In 2019, the Congressional-Executive Commission on
China concluded that, based on available evidence, the
establishment and actions committed in the internment camps in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region may constitute ``crimes
against humanity''.
(9) On December 31, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed
into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public
Law 115-409), which--
(A) condemns the People's Republic of China's
``forced disappearances, extralegal detentions,
invasive and omnipresent surveillance, and lack of due
process in judicial proceedings'';
(B) authorizes funding to promote democracy, human
rights, and the rule of law in the People's Republic of
China; and
(C) supports sanctions designations against any
entity or individual that--
(i) violates human rights or religious
freedoms; or
(ii) engages in censorship activities.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the President should--
(A) condemn abuses against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, members of other Muslim minority groups, and
other persons by authorities of the People's Republic
of China; and
(B) call on such authorities to immediately--
(i) close the internment camps;
(ii) lift all restrictions on, and ensure
respect for, human rights; and
(iii) allow people inside the People's
Republic of China to reestablish contact with
their loved ones, friends, and associates
outside the People's Republic of China;
(2) the Secretary of State should consider strategically
employing sanctions and other tools under the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.),
including measures resulting from the designation of the
People's Republic of China as a country of particular concern
for religious freedom under section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of such
Act (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)(ii)), that directly address
particularly severe violations of religious freedom;
(3) the Secretary of State should--
(A) work with United States allies and partners and
through multilateral institutions to condemn the mass
arbitrary detention of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz,
and members of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
(B) coordinate closely with the international
community on targeted sanctions and visa restrictions;
(4) the journalists of the Uyghur language service of Radio
Free Asia should be commended for their reporting on the human
rights and political situation in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region despite efforts by the Government of the People's
Republic of China to silence or intimidate their reporting
through the detention of family members and relatives in China;
(5) the United States should expand the availability of and
capacity for Uyghur language programming on Radio Free Asia in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(6) the Federal Bureau of Investigation and appropriate
United States law enforcement agencies should take steps to
hold accountable officials from the People's Republic of China
or individuals acting on their behalf who harass, threaten, or
intimidate persons within the United States; and
(7) United States companies and individuals selling goods
or services or otherwise operating in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region should take steps, including in any public or
financial filings, to ensure that--
(A) their commercial activities are not
contributing to human rights violations in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region or elsewhere in China; and
(B) their supply chains are not compromised by
forced labor.
SEC. 5. UPDATING STATEMENT OF UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD THE PEOPLE'S
REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
Section 901(b) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal
Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 101-246; 104 Stat. 84) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), and (9) as
paragraphs (8), (9), and (10), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
``(7) United States policy toward the People's Republic of
China should be explicitly linked to the situation in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region, specifically as to whether--
``(A) the internment of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups in
internment camps has ended;
``(B) all political prisoners are released;
``(C) the use of mass surveillance and predictive
policing to discriminate against and violate the human
rights of members of specific ethnic groups has ceased
and is not evident in other parts of China; and
``(D) the Government of the People's Republic of
China has ended particularly severe restrictions of
religious and cultural practice in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region;''.
SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.
(a) Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than
annually thereafter, the President shall submit a report to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives,
and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives that identifies each foreign person, including
any official of the Government of the People's Republic of
China, that the President determines is responsible for any of
the following with respect to Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz,
members of other Muslim minority groups, or other persons in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region:
(A) Torture.
(B) Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or
punishment.
(C) Prolonged detention without charges and trial.
(D) Causing the disappearance of persons by the
abduction and clandestine detention of those persons.
(E) Other flagrant denial of the right to life,
liberty, or the security of persons.
(2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
(b) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose the
sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each foreign
person identified in the report required under subsection (a)(1).
(c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) Asset blocking.--The President shall exercise all of
the powers granted to the President under the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the
extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in
property and interests in property of a foreign person
identified in the report required under subsection (a)(1) if
such property and interests in property--
(A) are in the United States;
(B) come within the United States; or
(C) come within the possession or control of a
United States person.
(2) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole.--
(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien
described in subsection (a)(1) is--
(i) inadmissible to the United States;
(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other
documentation to enter the United States; and
(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted
or paroled into the United States or to receive
any other benefit under the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
(B) Current visas revoked.--
(i) In general.--An alien described in
subsection (a)(1) is subject to revocation of
any visa or other entry documentation
regardless of when the visa or other entry
documentation is or was issued.
(ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under
clause (i) shall--
(I) take effect immediately; and
(II) cancel any other valid visa or
entry documentation that is in the
alien's possession.
(3) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections
(b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a foreign
person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to
violate, or causes a violation of paragraph (1) to the same
extent that such penalties apply to a person that commits an
unlawful act described in subsection (a) of such section 206.
(d) Implementation.--The President may exercise all authorities
provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this
section.
(e) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions
under this section with respect to a person identified in the report
required under subsection (a)(1) if the President determines and
certifies to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives that
such a waiver is in the national interest of the United States.
(f) Exceptions.--
(1) Exception for intelligence activities.--Sanctions under
this section shall not apply to any activity subject to the
reporting requirements under title V of the National Security
Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized
intelligence activities of the United States.
(2) Exception to comply with international obligations and
for law enforcement activities.--Sanctions under subsection
(c)(2) shall not apply with respect to an alien if admitting or
paroling the alien into the United States is necessary--
(A) to permit the United States to comply with the
Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United
Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and
entered into force November 21, 1947, between the
United Nations and the United States, or other
applicable international obligations; or
(B) to carry out or assist law enforcement activity
in the United States.
(3) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
(A) In general.--The authorities and requirements
to impose sanctions authorized under this section shall
not include the authority or a requirement to impose
sanctions on the importation of goods.
(B) Good defined.--In this paragraph, the term
``good'' means any article, natural or manmade
substance, material, supply, or manufactured product,
including inspection and test equipment, and excluding
technical data.
(g) Termination of Sanctions.--The President may terminate the
application of sanctions under this section with respect to a person if
the President determines and reports to the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House
of Representatives not later than 15 days before the termination takes
effect that--
(1) information exists that the person did not engage in
the activity for which sanctions were imposed;
(2) the person has been prosecuted appropriately for the
activity for which sanctions were imposed;
(3) the person has credibly demonstrated a significant
change in behavior, has paid an appropriate consequence for the
activity for which sanctions were imposed, and has credibly
committed to not engage in an activity described in subsection
(a)(1) in the future; or
(4) the termination of the sanctions is in the national
security interests of the United States.
(h) Sunset.--This section, and any sanctions imposed under this
section, shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Admission; admitted; alien.--The terms ``admission'',
``admitted'', and ``alien'' have the meanings given those terms
in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101).
(2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a
person that is not a United States person.
(3) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the
United States or any jurisdiction within the United
States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.
SEC. 7. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS
REGION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies and civil
society organizations, shall--
(1) submit a report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region to the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(2) make the report described in paragraph (1) available on
the website of the Department of State.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required under subsection
(a) shall include--
(1) an assessment of the number of individuals detained in
internment camps in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(2) a description of the conditions in such camps for
detainees, including, to the extent practicable, an assessment
of--
(A) methods of torture;
(B) efforts to force individuals to renounce their
faith; and
(C) other serious human rights abuses;
(3) to the extent practicable, an assessment of the number
of individuals in the region in forced labor camps;
(4) a description of the methods used by People's Republic
of China authorities to ``reeducate'' detainees in internment
camps, including a list of government agencies of the People's
Republic of China in charge of such reeducation;
(5) an assessment of the use and nature of forced labor in
and related to the detention of Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region, including a description of foreign
companies and industries directly benefitting from such labor;
(6) an assessment of the level of access to Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region granted by the Government of the People's
Republic of China to foreign diplomats and consular agents,
independent journalists, and representatives of nongovernmental
organizations;
(7) an assessment of the mass surveillance, predictive
policing, and other methods used by the Government of the
People's Republic of China to violate the human rights of
persons in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(8) a description of the frequency with which foreign
governments are forcibly returning Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, and other refugees and asylum seekers to the People's
Republic of China;
(9) a description, as appropriate, of United States
diplomatic efforts with allies and other nations--
(A) to address the gross violations of human rights
in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
(B) to protect asylum seekers from the region; and
(10) the identification of the offices within the
Department of State that are responsible for leading and
coordinating the diplomatic efforts referred to in paragraph
(9).
SEC. 8. REPORT ON PROTECTING CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED
STATES FROM INTIMIDATION AND COERCION.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, shall submit a report to the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate, the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives that outlines all of the efforts to protect United
States citizens and residents, including ethnic Uyghurs and Chinese
nationals legally studying or working temporarily in the United States,
who have experienced harassment or intimidation within the United
States by officials or agents of the Government of the People's
Republic of China.
SEC. 9. REPORT ON SECURITY AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF REPRESSION IN
XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION BY THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence, in
coordination with the Secretary of State, shall submit a report to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Select Committee on
Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives on the matters described
in subsection (b).
(b) Matters to Be Included.-- The report required under subsection
(a) shall include--
(1) an assessment of the national and regional security
threats posed to the United States by the policies of the
Government of the People's Republic of China in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region;
(2) a description of--
(A) the acquisition or development of technology by
the Government of the People's Republic of China to
facilitate internment and mass surveillance in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region, including technology related
to predictive policing and large-scale data collection
and analysis; and
(B) the threats that the acquisition, development,
and use of such technologies pose to the United States;
(3) a list of Chinese companies that are involved in--
(A) constructing or operating the internment camps
in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; or
(B) providing or operating mass surveillance
technology in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
(4) a description of the role of the Xinjiang Production
and Construction Corps in internment and forced labor in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
(c) Form of Report.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
be submitted in an unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
SEC. 10. CLASSIFIED REPORT.
The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with such
elements of the Intelligence Community as the Director deems
appropriate, shall submit a classified report to the Select Committee
on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives that assesses the ability
of the United States Government to collect and analyze intelligence
regarding--
(1) the scope and scale of the detention and forced labor
of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim
minority groups in the People's Republic of China;
(2) the gross violations of human rights perpetrated inside
the internment camps in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
(3) other policies of the Government of the People's
Republic of China in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region that
constitute gross violations of human rights.
Passed the Senate May 14, 2020.
Attest:
Secretary.
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3744
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in
Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and
harassment of these communities inside and outside China.