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.
On May 14, 2020, the Senate introduced and approved what would be the current 2020 bill.[3][6][8] On May 27, 2020, the House passed the amended bill by a vote of 413–1, sending it to then-President Donald Trump for approval.[9] The bill was signed by Trump into law on June 17, 2020.[10]
Legislative history
On September 11, 2019, a version of the bill—S. 178, the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019—passed in the US Senate by unanimous consent.[4][6][7]
On December 3, 2019, a stronger, amended version of the bill—the Uighur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response Act (or UIGHUR Act)—was passed by the US House of Representatives by a vote of 407 to 1.[3][11][6][12] The sole "no" vote was cast by Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky.[12]
On the afternoon of May 14, 2020, a new version of the bill—S. 3744, the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020—passed in the United States Senate by unanimous consent.[13] The House approved the bill by a vote of 413–1 on May 27, 2020.[9] The following month, on June 17, then-President Donald Trump signed the bill into law.[10][14][15][16]
The President has to submit a report to Congress within 180 days. The report shall designate Chinese officials and any other individuals who are responsible for carrying out: torture; prolonged detention without charges and a trial; abduction; cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of Muslim minority groups; and other flagrant denials of the "right to life, liberty, or the security" of people in Xinjiang. Persons identified in the report would then be subject to sanctions which include asset blocking, visa revocation, and ineligibility for entry into the United States. Imposing sanctions against the officials can be declined by the President if he determines and certifies to Congress that holding back on sanctions is in the national interest of the United States.[17][18]
The bill also calls on the President to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act on Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, which would be the first time such sanctions would be imposed on a member of China's politburo.[19][20] On July 9, 2020, the Trump administration imposed sanctions and visa restrictions against senior Chinese officials, including Quanguo, as well as Zhu Hailun, Wang Mingshan (王明山), and Huo Liujun (霍留军). With sanctions, they and their immediate relatives are barred from entering the US and will have US-based assets frozen.[21]
Reactions
Support
On the same day that then-President Trump signed the Act into law, former National Security Advisor John Bolton claimed that Trump had, on two occasions, told Chinese leaderXi Jinping to go forward with plans related to Uyghur internment.[17][22]
Editorials in The New York Times and The Washington Post supported the passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act.[23][24] Opinion pieces written in various publications also supported the passage of the Act.[25]
The CCP claim of deradicalization drew criticism in an article by the Deccan Chronicle,[26] while an article written by Srikanth Kondapalli made criticisms of the PRC's grand strategy for Xinjiang.[27] Analysts cited in an article by Reuters said that mainland China's response to passage of the Uyghur bill could be stronger than its reaction to the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act,[19] while the BBC's China correspondent said that if the bill became law, then it would mark the most significant international attempt to pressure mainland China over its mass detention of the Uyghurs.[28]
Uyghur community
On December 3, 2019, a World Uyghur Congress spokesman said that the House bill is important in opposing "China's continued push of extreme persecution," and that the organization looks forward to Trump signing the bill.[19][28] Various Uyghur activists, think tank analysts, and political representatives called on various governments to sanction mainland Chinese officials for their perceived involvement in the Xinjiang conflict.[29]
The Chinese government have called the bill a malicious attack on China and demanded that the United States prevent it from becoming law, warning that it would act to defend its interests as necessary.[19] On December 4, 2019, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the bill "wantonly smeared China's counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts."[3] Four days later, Ëziz Eli (艾则孜·艾力)—County Magistrate of Niya County and Vice Secretary of the Niya County County Communist Party Committee—and Perhat Roza (帕尔哈提·肉孜)—Vice Secretary and Commissioner of the Kashgar Prefecture Communist Party Committee—penned criticisms of the Act.[33][34]
Writing in the Global Times, Hu Xijin stated that U.S. members of Congress were "producing anti-China legislations faster than elementary school students writing essays."[35]: 327
In December 2019, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates defended China's actions in Xinjiang and condemned the bill as a "blatant interference by the US in the internal affairs of the People's Republic of China."[36]
^"What Congress can do now to combat China's mass ethnic cleansing of Uighurs". Washington Post. Washington Post. May 23, 2019. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019. Meanwhile, bipartisan legislation aimed at holding the Chinese accountable, sponsored by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), has cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is in committee in the House. Hopefully it will pass both chambers soon.
"China Is Operating Mass Detention Centers in Xinjiang. How Should the U.S. Respond?". Lawfare. Lawfare. December 13, 2019. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019. But what can the U.S. do? The U.S. will struggle to hold Chinese Communist Party officials accountable through international institutions...domestic options are more promising. Congress is poised to pass the Uighur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response (UIGHUR) Act of 2019, which calls upon the President to sanction Chinese officials, prohibits selling certain goods to China that it could use to suppress human rights, and mandates that the State Department report to Congress on conditions in Xinjiang.
Kanat, Omer (November 23, 2019). "NYT Exposé Should Be the Tipping Point on China's Abuse of Uyghurs". The Diplomat. The Diplomat. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019. In Congress, the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act (S.178 and H.R.649) has been teetering for almost one year. It is time to pass the measure. Other countries should follow this model of accountability and not China's turn toward totalitarianism.
"Sigal Samuel answers 8 key questions about the Chinese crackdown on Uighur Muslims". Vox. Vox. April 30, 2019. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019. Here in the US, folks can call or write to their representatives to let them know this is a humanitarian crisis they care about and want to see political action on. They can show support for the Xinjiang Uyghur Human Rights Act, a bipartisan bill that recommends considering several responses to China's crackdown, including imposing sanctions on Chinese officials involved in the camps.
^"'De-radicalising' Uighur Muslims: Is the Chinese action justified?". Deccan Chronicle. Dawn. December 18, 2019. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019. Calling the US action a political move aimed at damaging its international image, China says it is running a deradicalisation programme to mainstream its communities. The Chinese claim has not been verified by independent sources and mystery shrouds its deradicalisation or re-education programme. China needs to demonstrate to the international community that it has inserted human rights safeguards in its deradicalisation measures ... It is interesting that at a time when exclusionism, supremacism, and hyper-nationalism tendencies are globally on the rise, China has decided to launch its own version of 'harmonising' society. This thinking might appear to negate the global trends but in essence, its objectives are similar, and it has little space for accepting diversity.
^Kondapalli, Srikanth (December 8, 2019). "'No Mercy' for the Uighurs". Deccan Herald. Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
Clarke, Michael (July 24, 2018). "Patriotic songs and self-criticism: why China is 're-educating' Muslims in mass detention camps". ABC AU. ABC AU. Archived from the original on November 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019. To begin with, Australia should simply call out Beijing's actions in Xinjiang for what they are — systematic violations of the human rights of the Uighur people — much as US Congressional leaders and some members of the European Union have done.
Yar, Irfan (March 22, 2019). "CANADA SHOULD USE THE MAGNITSKY ACT TO TARGET CHINA'S HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS: IRFAN YAR IN THE EPOCH TIMES". MLI. MLI. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019. In the face of such an unrelenting repressive campaign, the government should consider applying such targeted sanctions against Chinese officials involved in the detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. U.S. lawmakers are currently exploring the possibility of applying such measures in the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act.
"The Equivalent of Cultural Genocide". Der Spiegel. Der Spiegel. November 28, 2019. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2019. DER SPIEGEL: A group of Senators and Representatives is pushing for the White House to slap entry bans on those responsible for the Xinjiang policy and to freeze their assets in the U.S., if they have any. Do you believe Germany and Europe should do the same? [Adrian] Zenz: Yes, I do. Not because of the financial or economic consequences of such measures, but because of the political message it would send: What is happening to the Uighurs is a crime against humanity. China's government would, of course, react strongly to such measures, just as they have struck back against the results of my research. But they would understand the message. For as long as our efforts to defend our values cost us nothing, they mean nothing to China's government. China is a culture in which talk is cheap.
^帕尔哈提·肉孜 (December 8, 2019). 新疆维吾尔人权状况不容诋毁. 英吉沙县人民政府门户网站 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
^Mao, Lin (2024). "From Trade War to New Cold War: Popular Nationalism and the Global Times on Weibo under Xi Jinping". In Fang, Qiang; Li, Xiaobing (eds.). China under Xi Jinping: A New Assessment. Leiden University Press. ISBN9789087284411.