China protests as US House passes Uygur bill demanding sanctions over human rights abuses in Xinjiang camps
- Legislation urges US government to act to counter China’s crackdown on Muslims and other minority groups
- It would prohibit the export of certain US technologies that could be used in state-sponsored suppression
In a statement, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the bill “deliberately defames the human rights situation in Xinjiang and discredits Beijing’s efforts to fight against extremism and terrorism in the region”.
“The core of the Xinjiang issue [in China] is not human rights, ethnic minority or religion; instead, the core is anti-terrorism and anti-separatism,” the statement said. “We warn the US that Xinjiang is China’s internal affairs and has no room for foreign forces.”
Beijing would respond further as the situation developed, the statement added. It did not specify what form a response might take, but mainland media on Tuesday reported that China was considering restricting US officials and lawmakers from visiting Xinjiang and would soon release an “unreliable entity list” that would include “relevant US entities”.
Lawmakers voted 407 to 1 to approve the Uygur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response Act (UIGHUR Act) of 2019, which commands the US administration to identify and sanction officials deemed responsible for their involvement in the mass internment of members of ethnic minority groups in the country’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
