Congress Passes Law Banning Imports From Companies Using Slave Labor in China’s Uyghur Region

Democrats and Republicans in Congress don't agree on much these days, but China's treatment of the the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region is impossible to ignore. As many as one million Uyghurs are being held in "re-education" camps [prisons], many subject to indoctrination, torture, and forced labor.

Illuminate: "There appears to be no end to the horrors that China will perpetuate against its Muslim minority in Xinjiang. The Chinese government’s oppression of the Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang now represents a "crime against humanity" under international law."

On Thursday, the Senate passed the bill called the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act unanimously. The bill had already passed the House and it will be sent to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law. Under the legislation, Chinese companies exporting to the United States from the Uyghur region must prove that the commodities or materials are made free of slave labor.

The Biden administration also sent a message this week to companies that are complicit in the oppression of China's Muslim minority.

BBC: "Also on Thursday, the US treasury department announced an investment blacklist [sanctions] of eight Chinese companies that it accuses of biometric surveillance and tracking of Uyghurs - including DJI, the world's largest maker of small drones frequently used by amateur hobbyists."

#internationalrelations #news

By: Don Lam & Curated Content