US lawmakers want China’s Muslim detention centres closed immediately
Proposed legislation condemns ‘gross violations’ of human rights, supports sanctions against Chinese officials and sale of surveillance equipment
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has responded to China’s sweeping crackdown on its minority Muslim population with a call to President Donald Trump to press for the immediate closure of “political re-education camps”.
The group proposed legislation on Wednesday that would urge Trump to condemn “gross violations” of human rights in the northwest Xinjiang region, where the UN estimates as many as 1 million Uygurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities are being held in arbitrary detention.
It would call on Trump to press his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, to close the “political re-education camps” immediately.
The legislation, proposed by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, would also support an existing push for sanctions against Xinjiang Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo and other officials under the Magnitsky Act, which would prevent Chen from entering the US and freeze any assets he has in US banks.
Other sanctions raised for consideration by the proposed act include a ban on sales or provision of US-made goods or services to Xinjiang state agents and the barring of certain Chinese entities – including the Xinjiang police bureau – from purchasing US-made equipment that could be used for surveillance.
The bipartisan congressional commission monitors human rights and the rule of law in China.