US Congress approves China sanctions over Uighur crackdown

US Congress approves China sanctions over Uighur crackdown

Read more at The New York Times

The House voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to pass a measure that would punish top Chinese officials for detaining more than one million Muslims in internment camps, sending President Trump a bill intended to force him to take a more aggressive stand on human rights abuses in China.

The bipartisan vote, 413 to 1, cleared legislation that would compel Mr. Trump to impose sanctions on Chen Quanguo, the top Communist Party official in Xinjiang, where the camps are, and mandate that the director of national intelligence produce a list of Chinese companies involved in the construction and operation of the camps.

The bill’s passage reflected broad congressional support to punish Beijing for its ruthless campaign against Uighurs, Muslim ethnic minorities, and to press the administration into action to condemn China’s mass detentions. The Senate passed the legislation, which was sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, earlier this month.