[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 27, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H2293-H2300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UYGHUR HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY ACT OF 2020
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 3744) 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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 3744
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--
[[Page H2294]]
(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;
[[Page H2295]]
(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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Sherman) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include in the Record extraneous material on S. 3744.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I should advise the House that we are taking up this
bill about 1\1/2\ hours earlier than expected, and I hope that our
colleagues from the Foreign Affairs Committee have changed their
schedule so that they can come to join us to speak on this bill.
Let me point out that even in a pandemic, the American Congress
focuses on human rights.
Madam Speaker, let me start by thanking our colleagues from both
sides of the aisle and both Chambers for their work on this
legislation. I especially want to thank Senators Rubio and Menendez,
and Representatives McGovern, Sherman, Smith, Suozzi, and others who
have worked for well more than a year, well more than 2 years in most
cases, to focus the world's attention on the deprivation of human
rights in Xinjiang province and to work for an appropriate American
response.
The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act is the result of tireless work
from so many individuals who focus on human rights. We have seen the
reporting, the interviews, the pictures, the documentaries. The
evidence is overwhelming: The Chinese Government has brutally detained
and reeducated or sought to reeducate over 1 million Uyghurs and other
ethnic minorities, chiefly Muslim minorities, in the northwest of
China. It is horrific.
The goal of this inhumane campaign is clear: to force these
minorities to assimilate, to erase all evidence of their unique
language, culture, history, and religion.
Beijing has relied heavily on technology to carry out this abuse,
transforming the Uyghur region of Xinjiang into a surveillance state.
But even as the world has learned more and more about the extent of
these atrocities, there has been nowhere near enough action.
Beijing has leveraged its economic clout to silence criticism of its
horrific human rights abuses. So many countries, particularly Muslim
countries that always speak out when any group of Muslims is being
denied their human rights, have been pressured into silence. Now, China
wants the world to forget about the Uyghurs as we grapple with this
global pandemic.
We must push back. Today, we send a message loud and clear: We stand
with the Uyghurs. We will fight for the oppressed. And we will not
forget.
By passing the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act today, the United
States takes a meaningful step toward holding the perpetrators
accountable. This bill will impose sanctions on those individuals
responsible for human rights violations in Xinjiang. It also calls on
our government experts to issue reports that can improve our
understanding of the situation on the ground.
The persecution of the Uyghurs is one of the greatest human rights
tragedies currently taking place. We must stand on the right side of
history and respond decisively. This legislation is a critical step
forward, and I am proud to support its passage. I hope all Members of
this body will join me in that effort, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the last several months have made it clear to the
entire world that the Chinese Communist
[[Page H2296]]
Party, or the CCP, has little regard for human life. When faced with a
decision, they have chosen and will continue to choose to preserve
their own power over helping their own people.
Rather than alert the world to the true dangers the coronavirus posed
to the world, they instead lied and orchestrated the worst coverup in
human history, exposing the Chinese people and the entire world to a
virus that has killed over 350,000 people, including nearly 100,000
innocent Americans. Another 5.5 million have been infected worldwide,
and those numbers only continue to climb.
This atrocity is far from the only example of the CCP prioritizing
its power over human life and liberty. At this very moment, the CCP's
rubber-stamp legislature is working to dismantle Hong Kong's freedoms.
Under the guise of national security legislation, the CCP plans to
expand its police state to Hong Kong and fundamentally change Hong
Kongers' way of life, freedom, and autonomy.
The CCP is showing the world that they are willing to tear up the
international commitments they made to preserve freedom in Hong Kong.
We can no longer stand idly by while the CCP consolidates its power
at the expense of freedom around the world. The ultimate example of
what the CCP is willing to do in the name of national security has been
clear for some time, and that is the cultural genocide of the Uyghurs
and other ethnic minority Muslim groups in western China.
Over the last several years, these ethnic minorities have been
rounded up and forced into concentration camps where they are
brainwashed with state propaganda and forced to do grueling work as
part of their ``reform.''
They live under a complete Orwellian surveillance program, an
apparatus tracking their every move. Some have been tortured and
killed. Others have been disappeared from their families, never to be
returned, with no explanation from the CCP.
That is why I stand today in strong support of the Uyghur Human
Rights Policy Act.
The goal of the Chinese Government is to completely eradicate an
entire culture simply because it doesn't fit within what the Chinese
Communist Party deems ``Chinese.'' They want to remove the cultural,
religious, and ethnic identity the Uyghurs have and indoctrinate them
so that they love the Chinese Communist Party more than their family,
their culture, or their religion. In total, 1 to 3 million Chinese
citizens have been subjected to the state-sponsored cultural genocide.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called this the ``stain of the
century,'' and he is absolutely right.
That is why we can't sit idly by and allow this to continue. As I
have said before, our silence will be complicit, and our inaction will
be our appeasement. But today we are acting, Madam Speaker, as a beacon
of hope and freedom to the rest of the world, and the United States has
a responsibility to take action.
Now is the time for all of us, Republican and Democrat, as Americans
to stand together and show the CCP that their egregious human rights
abuses will not go unchecked. We can do that by passing this bill today
with strong bipartisan support to show the Chinese Communist Party and
the entire world that their treatment of the Muslim Uyghurs is
inexcusable and will not be allowed without serious consequences.
This legislation requires the President to submit a report that
identifies Chinese Communist Party officials who have carried out these
heinous crimes. These officials may then be sanctioned for their
complicity.
This bill also requires a separate human rights report that
highlights abuses specifically to Xinjiang, China.
Madam Speaker, I am hopeful that this is just one of many bipartisan
actions that we can take as we push back on the world's most oppressive
dictatorship.
We must acknowledge that the CCP is the greatest economic and
national security threat of this generation. We must face this threat
not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans.
As the chairman of the recently announced China Task Force in the
House, I look forward to working with my colleagues to plan decisive
action to push back on the CCP. We cannot allow the CCP to remain
unchallenged on the world stage.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), chair of the Rules Committee, chair of
the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, co-chair of the Tom
Lantos Human Rights Commission, and a man who is known for his
dedication to human rights.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, today, I am proud the House and Senate
have come together in a bipartisan way to pass S. 3744, the Uyghur
Human Rights Policy Act of 2020.
This is monumental legislation that provides the administration a
clear direction for implementing U.S. policy and sends a clear message
that the United States supports the human rights of Uyghurs and other
ethnic minority groups in China.
I thank Congressmen Chris Smith, Brad Sherman, and Tom Suozzi, and
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Engel and Ranking Member McCaul for
their leadership on this bill.
We now believe that as many as 1.8 million Uyghurs and other ethnic
minority groups have been arbitrarily detained in mass internment camps
and subjected to forced labor, torture, and political indoctrination.
In recent months, we have seen leaked internal Chinese Government
documents that show the scope and implementation of the mass internment
camp system, including: evidence that the camp system is organized at
the direction of top Chinese Government officials, documentation that
punishments can be based on the behavior of their relatives outside the
camps, outlining the use of coercive force and punishment inflicted
upon inmates in a manual, guidance for how Chinese officials should use
surveillance to determine who to detain in the camps, and evidence of
the assignment of mass internment camp detainees to forced labor.
{time} 1230
There can be no doubt that the Chinese Government is trying to stamp
out the Uyghur identity. The policies of the Chinese Government
contravene the letter and the spirit of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and violate the government's obligations under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China has
signed but not ratified, and the International Covenant on Economic,
Social, and Cultural Rights ratified by China in 2001.
It is important to always make clear that our criticism is focused on
the Chinese Government. We respect the Chinese people, many of whom
have suffered from and are victims of the authoritarian policies of the
government.
Last year, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which I
chair, published a report making the case that the persecution of
Uyghurs may fit the definition of crimes against humanity as defined in
Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
In March, the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at
the Holocaust Memorial Museum also determined that there is a
``reasonable basis to believe that the Government of China is
committing crimes against humanity.''
Passage of the legislation is an important first step, but there is
much more that we need to do.
First, the administration should impose Global Magnitsky Act
sanctions on Chinese officials who are directing ongoing human rights
abuses, including Chen Quanguo, the Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary.
Second, the administration should further expand the Commerce
Department's ``Entity List,'' which imposes restrictions on businesses
and entities that provide technology, training, or equipment that has
been used in mass detentions or surveillance.
Third, I have introduced the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, H.R.
6210, that would prohibit imports from Xinjiang to the United States
unless companies can prove that their goods were not produced with
forced labor.
Too many U.S. and international companies are complicit in the
exploitation of the forced labor of Uyghur and other Muslim minorities.
I am proud to stand in solidarity with the Uyghur, Chinese, Tibetan,
[[Page H2297]]
and, indeed, all the people living under the rule of the Chinese
Government in their struggle to live freely, practice their religious
beliefs freely, and speak their own languages freely.
I look forward to the passage of this legislation and continuing our
bipartisan work together to support human rights in China.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the House sponsor of the Uyghur Human Rights
Policy Act.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my good
friend for his very strong remarks today and his leadership, Brad
Sherman as well, and, of course, Jim McGovern, as chairman, and I, as
the ranking member of the China Commission, for the work that we have
been doing to try to bring light to this terrible human rights tragedy,
this genocide that is being committed against the Uyghur people.
Madam Speaker, Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping's ongoing
genocide against the approximately 10 million Uyghurs living in
Xinjiang in northwestern China demands action.
Today, more than a million Uyghurs are in concentration camps.
Millions more are harassed, beaten, raped, and tortured.
S. 3744, which is nearly identical to legislation H.R. 649 that I and
my good friend Mr. Suozzi and 136 bipartisan cosponsors introduced 17
months ago, requires the administration to categorize and report on the
human rights abuses being committed by the Chinese Government and take
specific steps to sanction China's officials for these abuses,
including visa denial and asset blocking, the essence of the Magnitsky
Act, which is the prohibition of all financial transactions by an
abuser.
Madam Speaker, at a 2018 congressional hearing, Mihrigul Tursun
recounted her ordeal with torture, sexual abuse, and detention in one
of Xi Jinping's concentration camps. She broke down weeping, telling us
that she pleaded with God to end her life. Her Chinese jailers
restrained her to a table, increased the electrical current coursing
through her body, and mocked her belief in God.
She was tortured simply because she was an ethnic Uyghur and a Muslim
living in China.
Madam Speaker, there are millions of stories like this waiting to be
told about the crimes against humanity being committed by the Chinese
Government against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Turkic Muslims.
There are many people--we all know them; I have had them at my
hearings in the past--women and men who have had their entire families
back in this region, Xinjiang, arrested and put into concentration
camps and harassed in other ways.
Chinese authorities initially denied the existence of the
concentration camps and even tried to portray them as vocational
training centers. What a euphemism. They employed lies, censorship, and
economic coercion to stifle discussion of their crimes.
Where have we heard that before? Look at what is going on with COVID-
19 and the deceit and the lies that have come from Xi Jinping himself.
But documents obtained by The New York Times and the International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists have, indeed, exposed the
brutality behind Beijing's plans to radically and coercively transform
the culture and religion of ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Muslims.
The leaked documents showed detailed plans to intern between 1 and 3
million Uyghurs into concentration camps, where they are subjected to
severe human rights abuse and Orwellian indoctrination efforts for
those whose thinking ``has been infected''--that is to say, they are
Muslims. To Xi Jinping, that is something that needs to be obliterated.
At the same time, Beijing instituted plans to erase the influence of
Islam in western China, bulldozing mosques and shrines, severely
throttling all religious practice, and forcing camp detainees to
renounce their faith.
The leaked documents also show that Xi Jinping, himself, the so-
called President--not elected by the people, of course--Xi Jinping,
himself, directed the crackdown, saying that the Communist Party must
put the ``organs of dictatorship'' to work and show ``absolutely no
mercy'' in dealing with the Uyghurs and other Muslims.
In one speech, President Xi said: ``The weapons of the people's
democratic dictatorship must be wielded without any hesitation or
wavering.''
Continuing the quote, in February 2017, he told thousands of police
officers and troops standing at attention in a vast square in Urumqi to
prepare for a ``smashing, obliterating offensive,'' which is exactly
what they have done.
According to documents obtained again by The New York Times,
Communist Party officials who were reluctant to carry out Xi Jinping's
draconian and horrific policies were themselves investigated and
expunged. ``Secret teams of investigators have traveled across the
region identifying those who were not doing enough. In 2017, the party
opened more than 12,000 investigations into party members in
Xinjiang.''
Madam Speaker, we cannot be silent.
Xi Jinping is smashing and obliterating an entire people. He is
presiding over a genocide.
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Pelosi), a woman who has dedicated literally decades of
her life to fighting for human rights, particularly in China, the
distinguished Speaker of the House.
Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I
thank him and Mr. McCaul, Mr. Engel, the chairman, ranking member, and
senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee for bringing this
important legislation to the floor. It is an honor to be here with all
of them, and with Mr. Suozzi, who has been a champion for religious
rights throughout the world.
Madam Speaker, Mr. Smith and I go back decades in our fight for human
rights in China, whether it is in Tibet, whether it is in Beijing,
whether it is in Hong Kong. The list goes on and on. I thank Mr. Smith
for his ongoing leadership.
Madam Speaker, I also thank the chairman of the committee, Mr.
McGovern, the chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China
and chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Mr. Smith is the
ranking member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and
I thank Mr. Smith.
Today in this House of Representatives, in a very strong, bipartisan
way, we are sending a message to the persecuted that they are not
forgotten. We are saying to the President of China: ``You may tell
these people that they are forgotten, but they aren't.''
On the floor of the House of Representatives, in bipartisan,
bicameral legislation, we are here in support of the Uyghur Human
Rights Policy Act, strong bipartisan legislation to address and defend
the rights and dignity of the Uyghur people from China's oppression.
Today, again, we are sending that message even as we are heartbroken
as to what China's people are suffering in terms of COVID-19 and that
crisis. We are sad about that.
Madam Speaker, I thank Chris Smith, again, and Mr. Engel and Mr.
McCaul. I thank Senator Rubio, also, for his leadership on this
legislation. He has been a champion working with us on the China
issues.
Beijing's barbarous actions targeting the Uyghur people are an
outrage to the collective conscience of the world. Across Xinjiang, a
Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Uyghur people and other Muslim minorities
face brutal oppression, as Mr. Smith was pointing out:
A pervasive state of mass surveillance and predictive policing used
to discriminate and violate the human rights of minorities;
The mass incarceration of more than 1 million--and that is a small
number, a very conservative, small number--innocent people, with
beatings, solitary confinement, deprivation of food and medical
treatment, and the number is probably much larger than that;
Forced sterilizations and other forms of torture;
Incidents of mass shootings, extrajudicial killings, and the
intimidation and suppression of journalists courageously exposing the
truth.
Today, with this overwhelming bipartisan legislation, the United
States Congress is taking a firm step to counter Beijing's horrific
human rights abuses against the Uyghurs.
[[Page H2298]]
In the House, when brought to the floor in December, this legislation
passed on a nearly unanimous basis. In the Senate, it passed under
unanimous consent, with more than 50 cosponsors from both sides of the
aisle.
This legislation helps uncover the truth, requiring reports by the
Director of National Intelligence, State Department, and FBI about the
depths of the crisis and about China's campaign against journalists
exposing the facts.
It creates accountability and ensures transparency of Chinese and
foreign companies involved in the camps, and it engages the full
firepower of American law and leadership, including by urging the
application of targeted sanctions against those involved in the
oppression of the Uyghur people.
We must continue to raise a drumbeat and shine a light on the abuse
perpetrated by Beijing against the Uyghurs whenever we can--from this
House floor, to the State Department, to our multilateral institutions.
Last Friday, as Speaker, I had the honor of appointing Nury Turkel, a
human rights champion who was born in a camp in the Xinjiang region, to
the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,
largely focused, with Ambassador Brownback's leadership, on freedom of
religion in many countries. There, I am confident that he will continue
to be a powerful voice for the Uyghur people and for the cause of
justice around the world.
In just over a week--just think of it--the global community will mark
the solemn milestone of 31 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre,
when students, workers, and citizens were gunned down as they
peacefully defied an oppressive regime to demand their liberties and
human rights.
Sadly, today, Beijing's human rights abuses continue--blatantly
continue--targeting so many, from the decades-long abuse faced by the
Tibetan people--many of us have visited Tibet and seen firsthand what
is happening there--to Hong Kong's fight for democracy and the rule of
law, which has once again been targeted in recent days in a very
shameful way, to the jailing of journalists, human rights lawyers,
Christians, and democracy advocates throughout the mainland.
{time} 1245
To honor all who have been persecuted, we must renew our commitment
to speaking out against China's human rights abuses. If America does
not speak out for human rights in China because of some commercial
interest, then we lose all moral authority to speak out on human rights
violations anyplace in the world. It is a challenge to our conscience.
We must do the right thing, and that is what we are doing today.
In honor of the millions fighting for their dignity, safety, and
rights in China and around the world, I strongly urge a bipartisan vote
for the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020.
I again thank those responsible, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Engel, Mr. Sherman,
Mr. Smith, members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mr. Suozzi,
who has been a champion, as I say, on religious freedom throughout the
world.
I want to close by commending Mr. McGovern, again, for being
relentless and persistent in terms of shining a bright light on human
rights violations throughout world and especially in China.
Madam Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers, so I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Suozzi), an advocate for human and religious rights.
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman, the ranking member,
and Congressman Smith for their good work and partnership on this
issue.
I thank Chairman McGovern and Speaker Pelosi for their leadership on
all issues of human rights.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bipartisan Uyghur
Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, which holds the Chinese Communist
Party accountable for the horrific treatment of Uyghur Muslim
minorities, including forced labor camps in western China, over 1
million Uyghurs in mass internment who are subjected to systemized
brainwashing, Big Brother-like surveillance, and gross violations of
their religious freedom.
Since President Nixon went to China in 1971, most Americans have
believed that with increased economic integration and exposure to our
system of democracy and our way of life, that China would become more
like us. Clearly, that has not happened.
Not only does the Chinese Communist Party reject any real steps
toward democracy, withhold information from the world community
regarding the coronavirus, continue its unfair trade practices, and
cheat by stealing our intellectual property, but it continually
violates human rights, as we have seen, not only in Xinjiang with the
Uyghurs, but also in Tibet with the Buddhists, and in Hong Kong with
the students and the journalists.
Representative Chris Smith and I originally introduced legislation
regarding abuse of the Uyghurs in November of 2018 and, while it has
taken too long, it is never too late to speak out for human rights and
penalize China for its egregious violations.
Madam Speaker, Uyghur families are prohibited from practicing their
faith. They are often separated from their family members and
prohibited from reading the Koran and making their daily prayers and,
in some instances, they are forced to eat pork during Ramadan.
The so-called ``re-education camps'' in China, where Uyghurs are
forced to work in textile or manufacturing jobs in or near mass
internment camps are not only repugnant to our values, but also taint
global supply chains.
The brutal, religious-based persecution of the Uyghurs in China is
alarming but not new. China has continued to repress anyone who does
not conform to their system, including Tibetans, Christians, and the
people of Hong Kong.
Just last week in Hong Kong, the Chinese Communist Party proposed
national security legislation that would erode Hong Kong's autonomy and
civil liberties. We must remain vigilant.
This bill holds the Chinese Communist Party and Politburo members
like Chen Quanguo accountable for their abuses.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this
important, bipartisan legislation.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), an advocate for human rights.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California
for his leadership. I thank Mr. Smith for his leadership as well, and
the gentleman from Texas, my colleague, for his leadership; and
listening to the Speaker for her continued years of leadership.
The treatment of Uyghurs in China, which warranted the call for the
Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020, S. 3744, the treatment is of
such volcanic, mammoth proportions that we cannot even describe it on
this floor.
We, in America, take our faith so seriously. We are gratified that
whatever our faith is, and whatever the time that we have for our
particular faith, whether we go to confession as Catholics or whether
or not we take communion, as many faiths do, whether we honor Easter as
a special moment for Christians of resurrection, whether or not we know
the Passover and the specialness of that, or whether as Muslims we know
Ramadan, we are clearly ones that understand how much faith is a part
of our life.
Can you imagine being in a country that brutalizes you because you
practice your faith; keeps you from reading the very book that gives
you faith and inspiration, the Koran, and then, doing the most
dastardly act, which is to separate you from your families?
Of course, many of us know, Ramadan just finished with Eid on
Saturday. Americans who are Muslims had the opportunity to do and
practice their faith and share it with their families without
recrimination and violence.
Just imagine a Uyghur in China, fearful of your life, and not having
the ability to practice your faith; and as one of my colleagues said,
the worst, forcing you to eat pork and continuing to subject you to
penalties and punishment.
[[Page H2299]]
So, I rise to support this legislation because we can do nothing less
but to support the Human Rights Policy Act for the Uyghurs and bring
them out of the terrible tragedy of oppression in China.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Just today, the Secretary of State announced, under the Hong Kong
Human Rights and Democracy Act that we passed last November which
requires an annual certification of Hong Kong's autonomy, he just
announced that he cannot certify the autonomous nature of Hong Kong.
This is a very significant day, Madam Speaker, because the Chinese
Communist Party now has cracked down on the free and loving people of
Hong Kong and their autonomous nature under one country, two systems,
back when the U.K.-Sino pact was signed. The CCP, Chinese Communist
Party, are in violation now of the Sino-U.K. pact.
Madam Speaker, this bill, the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020
is more proof that we can come together, as Republicans and Democrats,
to address the generational threat by the Chinese Communist Party and
champion American values.
Whether it be the Muslim population of the Uyghurs, whether it be the
Tibetan population who have been persecuted, and the Dalai Lama, who is
in exile, to the Christians who are persecuted in China by the
Communist Party, this bill will help hold the Chinese Communist Party
accountable for their atrocities and will show the world, including the
Uyghur Muslim American community, that the United States Congress will
not tolerate these appalling human rights violations. We will always
stand for human rights across the globe.
And the one thing I respect about our committee, the Foreign Affairs
Committee, is that we stand together when it comes to our foreign
policy. As Chairman Engel often says, partisanship stops at the water's
edge. And when it comes to human rights, we stand with our Founding
Fathers and what they stood for in fighting oppression and tyranny and
for democracy and freedom.
That is why, today, we stand with the Uyghur Muslim population in
China. And for all those listening in China and, particularly, to those
members of the Chinese Communist Party who are probably watching this
broadcast on C-SPAN, we are watching you today. We will not back down.
We will talk about this until it stops, and it will stop, hopefully, in
our lifetime. It won't stop this Congress, but it must stop.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, having no further speakers, I yield
myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.
The bill before us represents a number of different bills in the
Senate and the House, all of which have been blended together. All of
these bills contain important complementary measures to counter one of
the most important human rights violations of the present day,
detention of over 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslims in the Xinjiang
Province of China.
In particular, as chair of the Asia, the Pacific, and
Nonproliferation Subcommittee, back in February of last year, I joined
with our ranking member, Ted Yoho, and Congressman Connolly and
Congresswoman Wagner in introducing the Uighur Act. That legislation
added to this bill the imposition of sanctions on individuals and
entities found to have committed gross human rights abuses against
Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority
groups and other persons in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region.
This bill, I should point out, is not one that just expresses the
view of Congress; not one that just demands reports be issued by the
State Department to refocus the world on what is going with the Uyghurs
and others. This bill imposes sanctions on those responsible.
The Chinese Communist Party has sought to erase the distinct Uyghur
Muslim culture and religious traditions through mass detentions, re-
education, and a coordinated campaign called ``Strike Hard Against
Violent Extremism'' launched in 2014. Thanks to leaked Chinese
Communist Party documents, we now know the impetus of this campaign
came from the highest levels of the party.
In April of 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping ordered party
officials to show ``absolutely no mercy'' in using the ``organs of
dictatorship'' to suppress Muslim minorities. More than a million
Uyghurs have been imprisoned. And they have been imprisoned because, in
the words of the Chinese Communist Party, ``their thinking has been
infected by unhealthy thoughts.''
It appears, according to the Chinese Communist Party, a dedication to
religion or to freedom and democracy is unhealthy and justifies
incarceration.
Along with the re-education camps, the Strike Hard campaign has also
involved high-tech surveillance and monitoring of the Uyghurs,
monitoring and suppressing Muslim religious practice, including funeral
practices, and suppression of the Uyghur language.
And the party has acted beyond the borders of China, intimidating
Chinese Muslim minorities who are living abroad, preventing them,
including some who are permanent residents of the United States, from
leaving the Xinjiang region.
The legislation before us is an important start, but it is just a
start in our efforts to counter Chinese repression of its Muslim
minorities.
I think I have already highlighted the sanctions in this bill. In
particular, the bill requires the President to block assets of and deny
and revoke visas with respect to any foreign person, including a
Chinese Government official, who are determined to be responsible for
the suppression and inhumane treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim
minorities in Xinjiang Province.
So I want to thank Chairman Engel of the Foreign Affairs Committee,
who has put together the most bipartisan committee in either House of
Congress; Ranking Member McCaul, who has been an important part of
that; Speaker Pelosi, who spoke to us earlier; our colleagues Chris
Smith and Tom Suozzi, who have spoken to us earlier as well; Senators
Marco Rubio and Robert Menendez; my colleague in running the Asia, the
Pacific, and Nonproliferation Subcommittee, Ted Yoho; as well as Gerry
Connolly, Ann Wagner, and everyone else who has been involved in the
legislation.
I hope that we will see Muslim countries particularly in the world--
but all countries--be willing to stand up to Beijing and speak out
against this human rights travesty.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3744. the Uyghur
Human Rights Policy Act of 2020. I was proud to join Congressman Chris
Smith to introduce an earlier version of this important legislation at
the beginning of last year and I'm glad to that we are finally able to
get this legislation across the finish line today.
As a senior Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and a
committed defender of human rights, I have watched over the years as
the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) routinely mistreats its people. The
list of abuses is too long to recount here but it spans every sector of
human life from religious freedom, to due process protections, to press
freedom and freedom of assembly, to China's notorious population
policies. Pretty much every freedom in our Bill of Rights is lacking in
China.
Religious freedom, specifically, is a longstanding issue. The CCP
seems to think that religion is a fundamental enemy. Not only are
Christians hounded and mistreated, but Falun Gong practitioners are
brutally persecuted, with many having their organs harvested
involuntarily.
That brings us to the situation in Xinjiang and the Orwellian
nightmare faced by Uyghur Muslims there today. As the problem has
gotten worse and more facts have come out, the situation has become
clear. China imprisons somewhere between one and three million Uyghurs
in concentration camps where they undergo indoctrination and forced
labor. Many are tortured. For Uyghurs outside the camps, the CCP also
makes life difficult, subjecting them to intense surveillance and
policing. Notably, Uyghurs both in and outside the camps are made to
eat foods forbidden to Muslims and forced to abandon other practices of
their faith. The Party even pursues Uyghurs in other countries by
attempting to control their behavior through threats against family
members still in China and by pressuring other countries to send them
back to China.
[[Page H2300]]
No one deserves to live with this kind of persecution which is why
this malicious treatment of the Uyghurs by the CCP must brought to an
end. We all wish to see the day when China behaves like, and can be
treated as, a normal country. Until that time, we delude ourselves if
we treat it like one. That is why we must enact the Uyghur Human Rights
Policy Act today.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, S. 3744.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution
965, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question
are postponed.
____________________