SUPPORT FOR THE UYGHUR MUSLIMS: H.R. 6210, UYGHUR FORCED LABOR PREVENTION ACT AND H.R. 6270 UYGHUR FORCED LABOR DISCLOSURE ACT; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 164
(Extensions of Remarks - September 22, 2020)
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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORT FOR THE UYGHUR MUSLIMS: H.R. 6210, UYGHUR FORCED LABOR
PREVENTION ACT AND H.R. 6270 UYGHUR FORCED LABOR DISCLOSURE ACT
______
HON. ANDRE CARSON
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my
unequivocal support for the Uyghur Muslim people, and to support the
Uyghur bills being considered in the House.
For several years, China has violated international human rights
through the mass surveillance and internment of as many as 1,800,000
Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority
groups in Xinjiang--an Autonomous Region in western China. Those
detained in internment camps have described forced political
indoctrination, torture, beatings, food deprivation, and denial of
religious, cultural, and linguistic freedoms. What are the alleged high
crimes that warrant such inhumane punishment against Uyghurs? Wearing
long beards, refusing alcohol, or other behaviors that Chinese
authorities deem to be signs of ``religious extremism.''
Alarmingly, there is a widespread forced labor system that exists
inside the mass internment camps as confirmed by the testimony of camp
survivors, satellite imagery, and leaked official documents from the
Chinese government. In its 2019 Annual Report, the Congressional-
Executive Commission on China found that goods produced with forced
labor included textiles, electronics, food products, shoes, tea, and
handicrafts. We can not allow these goods to reach our shores. America
must not profit off the denial of religious freedom and basic human
rights that is perpetuated against Uyghur Muslims.
That is why I support the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 2020,
H.R. 6270, and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, H.R. 6210. These
bills will hold private companies wishing to import goods into the U.S.
accountable by ensuring that they demonstrate a clean supply chain
where goods or raw materials are not produced using forced labor.
Additionally, these bills will authorize the President of the United
States to apply targeted sanctions on anyone responsible for the labor
trafficking of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities.
There is no doubt that the United States has economically benefitted
from the bilateral relationship with China. Yet, the United States'
moral authority must be paramount to the economic relationship we have
enjoyed. We must be willing to sacrifice any monetary gain. Our core
democratic and constitutional principles to practice religion freely
must be unwavering. In the plight of religious freedom around the world
and for the Uyghur Muslims in China--the United States stands with you.
I urge my colleagues to support the Uyghurs and I urge my colleagues
to support these bills