The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation designed to punish China for its treatment of Uighurs in the country’s far western Xinjiang region, a move that is sure to anger Beijing and add to rising tension between the world’s two largest economies.
The 428-1 vote on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act demonstrated the broad, bipartisan sentiment in the US Congress for taking a harder line against China.
A similar measure has already passed in the US Senate. Shares of most Chinese solar equipment manufacturers fell yesterday, including Trina Solar and JA Solar Technology.
Photo: AP
“The People’s Republic of China is waging a brutal campaign of repression against the Uighur people and other minorities with mass incarceration, torture and forced labor,” US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during a news conference before the vote. “With these bills, the House is combating this horrific situation and shining a light on Beijing’s abuse.”
The House action follows a White House announcement earlier this week that the US would engage in a “diplomatic boycott” of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing by refusing to send an official delegation to the event over human rights concerns.
The House also approved by similar margins two additional measures related to Uighurs, including a resolution expressing the view of the House that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “failed to adhere to its own human rights commitments” in the case of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai (彭帥), and a resolution that asserts genocide is occurring in Xinjiang and asks for a UN investigation of the matter.
The legislation that would have the biggest impact by far is the forced labor bill, which was introduced by US representatives Jim McGovern and Chris Smith, and has 111 cosponsors.
“Many products used every day by people all over our country, including clothing, food and shoes, are made using forced labor,” McGovern said. “The imperative to act is clear.”
The bill would require the US Department of Homeland Security to create a list of entities that collaborate with the Chinese government in the repression of Uighurs, a predominately Muslim ethnic minority, in Xinjiang, as well as other groups, and ban those goods from entering the US.
The bill contains a “rebuttable presumption” clause that assumes all goods coming from Xinjiang are made with forced labor — and thus banned — unless the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection gives an exception.
“Some people are going to say: ‘Oh my gosh, if we don’t do business with Xinjiang, the cost of products go up,’” said US Representative Tom Suozzi, one of the bill’s cosponsors. “Well, that’s too damn bad. This should shock everyone’s conscience. The United States must stand up for its values and make it clear that we will not be complicit in the internment and forced labor of Uighur Muslims.”
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