A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Wednesday faulted the administration of US President Donald Trump for failing to impose sanctions over China’s alleged human rights abuses against its Muslim minority and called for punitive measures against a senior Chinese Communist Party official and Chinese companies.
A letter to Trump’s top advisers signed by more than 40 US lawmakers said that China’s actions in Xinjiang “may constitute crimes against humanity” and urged tighter US export controls to ensure that US companies are not assisting the Chinese government’s crackdown there, either directly or indirectly.
It also asked the US to strengthen financial disclosure requirements to alert investors about the presence in US capital markets of Chinese companies that are “complicit in human rights abuses.”
Photo: Reuters
The letter specifically cited Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co (杭州海康威視數字技術) and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co (浙江大華科技), which produce audio-visual equipment that can be used for surveillance.
China faces growing condemnation from Western capitals and rights groups for setting up facilities that UN experts describe as mass detention centers holding more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslims.
Beijing has said that its measures in Xinjiang are aimed at stemming the threat of militancy.
The letter, which was sent to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, urged them to swiftly impose sanctions on Xinjiang Chinese Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo (陳全國) and others “complicit in gross violations of human rights.”
“We are disappointed with the administration’s failure so far to impose any sanctions related to the ongoing systemic and egregious human rights abuses in Xinjiang,” the lawmakers said. “While the strong rhetoric condemning the Chinese government’s actions [in Xinjiang] from [US] Vice President [Mike] Pence and others is certainly welcomed, words alone are not enough.”
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