US House passes 3 bills on China human rights, Asia-Pacific cooperation

One piece of legislation authorises further action to protect Uygur population, while another would help counter Beijing’s disinformation about Tibet

Xi Jinping ‘trying to rebrand Xinjiang’ as business and tourist destination and ‘erase Uygurs’ from global community’s memory, bill sponsor says

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California Republican Young Kim (centre) sponsored one of the three bills passed by the US House of Representatives in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:40am, 16 Feb 2024Updated: 10:07am, 16 Feb 2024

Three pieces of US legislation focused on China’s human rights situation and US security cooperation with Asia-Pacific allies cleared the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday.

The first of the three, introduced by California Republican Young Kim, authorises further action to protect China’s Uygur populations from alleged human rights abuses, including appointing a “special coordinator for Uygur issues” in the US State Department. It passed 414-6.

The second, sponsored by Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern, amends the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 – which codified much of US political and programmatic support for Tibet – to authorise efforts to counter Beijing’s disinformation about the autonomous region. It passed 392-28.

The third, sponsored by the lead Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Gregory Meeks, establishes an inter-parliamentary working group between Washington and the three other member countries of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue: Australia, India and Japan. It passed 379-39.

This follows the House’s passage of a bill on Tuesday that restricts funds from the State Department and America’s international development agency (USAID) from flowing into China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.