[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 164 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SUPPORT FOR THE UYGHUR MUSLIMS: H.R. 6210, UYGHUR FORCED LABOR 
    PREVENTION ACT AND H.R. 6270 UYGHUR FORCED LABOR DISCLOSURE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANDRE CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 22, 2020

  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my 
unequivocal support for the Uyghur Muslim people, and to support the 
Uyghur bills being considered in the House.
  For several years, China has violated international human rights 
through the mass surveillance and internment of as many as 1,800,000 
Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority 
groups in Xinjiang--an Autonomous Region in western China. Those 
detained in internment camps have described forced political 
indoctrination, torture, beatings, food deprivation, and denial of 
religious, cultural, and linguistic freedoms. What are the alleged high 
crimes that warrant such inhumane punishment against Uyghurs? Wearing 
long beards, refusing alcohol, or other behaviors that Chinese 
authorities deem to be signs of ``religious extremism.''
  Alarmingly, there is a widespread forced labor system that exists 
inside the mass internment camps as confirmed by the testimony of camp 
survivors, satellite imagery, and leaked official documents from the 
Chinese government. In its 2019 Annual Report, the Congressional-
Executive Commission on China found that goods produced with forced 
labor included textiles, electronics, food products, shoes, tea, and 
handicrafts. We can not allow these goods to reach our shores. America 
must not profit off the denial of religious freedom and basic human 
rights that is perpetuated against Uyghur Muslims.
  That is why I support the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 2020, 
H.R. 6270, and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, H.R. 6210. These 
bills will hold private companies wishing to import goods into the U.S. 
accountable by ensuring that they demonstrate a clean supply chain 
where goods or raw materials are not produced using forced labor. 
Additionally, these bills will authorize the President of the United 
States to apply targeted sanctions on anyone responsible for the labor 
trafficking of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities.
  There is no doubt that the United States has economically benefitted 
from the bilateral relationship with China. Yet, the United States' 
moral authority must be paramount to the economic relationship we have 
enjoyed. We must be willing to sacrifice any monetary gain. Our core 
democratic and constitutional principles to practice religion freely 
must be unwavering. In the plight of religious freedom around the world 
and for the Uyghur Muslims in China--the United States stands with you.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Uyghurs and I urge my colleagues 
to support these bills.