{"id":1865,"date":"2020-08-17T23:30:01","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T14:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/?p=1865"},"modified":"2020-08-17T23:35:40","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T14:35:40","slug":"uyghur-human-rights-policy-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yuzb.net\/en\/2020\/08\/17\/uyghur-human-rights-policy-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Uyghur_Human_Rights_Policy_Act<\/a>

Editorials in The New York Times<\/a><\/em> and The Washington Post<\/a><\/em> supported the passage of the Act.[19]<\/a>[20]<\/a><\/sup> Opinion pieces written in various publications also supported the passage of the Act.[21]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day President Trump signed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act into law, former National Security Advisor John Bolton<\/a> claimed Trump had on two occasions told Chinese leader<\/a> Xi Jinping<\/a> to go forward with plans related to Uyghur internment.[16]<\/a><\/sup>[22]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nury Turkel<\/a>, commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom<\/a> and Uyghur American<\/a> activist, thanked President Trump for signing the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act and further wrote that, “It’s a great day for America and the Uighur people”.[23]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 9, 2020, the Trump administration imposed sanctions<\/a> and visa restrictions against senior Chinese officials, including Chen Quanguo<\/a>, Zhu Hailun<\/a>, Wang Mingshan (\u738b\u660e\u5c71<\/a>) and Huo Liujun (\u970d\u7559\u519b). With sanctions, they and their immediate relatives are barred from entering the US and will have US-based assets frozen.[24]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

International Uyghur community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A World Uyghur Congress<\/a> spokesman said on December 3, 2019 that the House bill is important in opposing “China’s continued push of extreme persecution” and that the organization looks forward to President Trump signing the bill.[17]<\/a><\/sup>[25]<\/a><\/sup> 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.[26]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2020, co-founder of the Uyghur Human Rights Project and former President of the Uyghur American Association<\/a> Nury Turkel, said that the U.S. government must use the new bill to impose sanctions on Chinese officials for religious persecution. He also urged Congress to pass a second bill, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would direct the U.S. Customs and Border Protection<\/a> to presume that any goods produced in the Uyghur region are the product of forced labor.[27]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 17, President Donald Trump<\/a> signed a legislation the \u201cUyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020\u201d to punish China<\/a> over their oppression of Uighur Muslims<\/a> and other ethnic minority groups<\/a>. Under this law, the Trump administration has 180 days to identify Chinese officials responsible for carrying out human rights<\/a> abuses, and level sanctions on those alleged to have roles in mass surveillance<\/a> and detention<\/a>.[28]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memetrusul Hesen, an Uyghur and former resident of Kargilik County<\/a> (Yecheng), Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang who is now a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, left China with his aged mother in 2016. After a brief period of contact via phone in 2016, he had no longer been able to speak with his family or any of the members of his extended family up to mid-2020, despite having filed numerous requests for information at the Chinese embassy. Hesen said his mother, Halimihan Ahun, 92, sits and cries everyday. In an interview with Radio Free Asia<\/a><\/em>, Hesen expressed thanks to the United States for thinking about Uyghur suffering, and expressed hope the bill’s passage could be a driving force for change.[29]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese government and its allies<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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.[17]<\/a><\/sup> On December 4, 2019, Chinese Foreign Ministry<\/a> spokesperson Hua Chunying<\/a> said that the bill “wantonly smeared China’s counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts”.[2]<\/a><\/sup> On December 8, 2019, Minfeng\/Niya County<\/a> (in eastern Hotan Prefecture, southern Xinjiang) County Communist Party Committee Vice Secretary (\u59d4\u526f\u4e66\u8bb0) and County Magistrate (\u53bf\u957f) Aizezi Aili (\u827e\u5219\u5b5c\u00b7\u827e\u529b) and Kashgar Prefecture<\/a> Communist Party Committee Vice Secretary and Commissioner (\u5580\u4ec0\u5730\u59d4\u526f\u4e66\u8bb0\u3001\u884c\u7f72\u4e13\u5458) Pa’erhati Rouzi (\u5e15\u5c14\u54c8\u63d0\u00b7\u8089\u5b5c) penned criticisms of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act.[30]<\/a><\/sup>[31]<\/a><\/sup> The claim of deradicalization drew criticism in an article by the Deccan Chronicle<\/em>[32]<\/a><\/sup> while an article written by Srikanth Kondapalli<\/a> made criticisms of the PRC’s grand strategy for Xinjiang.[33]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts cited in an article by Reuters<\/a> 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<\/a>,[17]<\/a><\/sup> 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<\/a> over its mass detention of the Uyghurs.[25]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2019, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates<\/a> defended China’s actions in Xinjiang and condemned the U.S. Uyghur human rights bill as a “blatant interference by the US in the internal affairs of the People\u2019s Republic of China.”[34]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also<\/h2>\n\n\n\n