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US Senate passes Uygur Human Rights Policy Act calling for sanctions on Chinese officials over Xinjiang camps
- Bill also urges Trump administration to prohibit export of goods and services to state agents in Chinese region where upwards of 1 million Uygurs are being held
- Beijing describes move as a ‘gross interference in China’s internal affairs’
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The United States Senate has passed a bipartisan bill urging the government to take action to counter China’s crackdown on Muslims and other minorities in its far western region of Xinjiang.
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The Uygur Human Rights Policy Act, which passed on Wednesday, appeals for the Trump administration to consider human rights sanctions against Chinese officials and prohibit the export of US goods and services to state agents operating in Xinjiang.
It also calls on US President Donald Trump to condemn the abuses and urges Chinese President Xi Jinping to immediately close the massive network of internment camps.
Human rights groups in the West have accused Beijing of using the camps to detain upwards of 1 million Uygurs and other minority groups and subjecting them to political indoctrination.
The bill is the latest escalation of pressure from Washington over China’s mass detention and surveillance programmes, which have faced a growing international outcry in the past two years. A second, similar piece of legislation is awaiting a vote in the US House of Representatives.
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