The US House of Representatives voted on Monday to renew a ban on all imports from military-ruled Myanmar as part of sanctions for repressing democratic opposition and for human rights abuses.
"Today's vote to renew US import restrictions on the military regime in Burma [Myanmar] sends a clear message that those fighting for democracy and human rights in Burma do not stand alone in their struggle," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after lawmakers unanimously adopted a resolution on the ban.
An identical resolution was adopted 21-0 by the US Senate finance committee and sent to the full chamber for voting, expected within the next few days, Congressional aides said.
The House resolution came about two months after President George W. Bush renewed sanctions on Myanmar for another year. They prohibit new investments and exports of financial services and deny visas to top junta officials.
"As we renew our import sanctions, we aim both to pressure directly the military junta in Burma and to influence those in the international community who are currently asleep at the wheel of justice and human rights," said Tom Lantos, the Democratic head of the powerful House panel on foreign relations.
"Oppressive power can only be delegitimized when it is fully isolated," he said, regretting that "too many other nations -- India and China in particular -- continue to prop up the government through shockingly direct deals, including arms trading, with this cruel junta."
Democratic Senator Max Baucus, who chaired the Senate finance committee meeting on the import ban, said the sanctions could be "truly effective" if there were a "more coordinated effort with other countries."
Lawmakers called for the release of Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi -- a Nobel Peace prize laureate whose National League for Democracy (NLD) political party won 1990 elections but was never allowed to take office.
"The passage of this resolution shows that the American people will continue to stand with Aung San Suu Kyi and the freedom-seeking people of Burma in their just cause," Pelosi said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was