House Democrat Rep. Val Demings has become the latest member of Congress to condemn the actions of government over their “human rights abuses” against its own people, but in particular in the Xinjiang region of the country.
While the focus against the Chinese has been its espionage tactics and use of communications companies like Huawei to carry out it's spying, Rep. Demings has cosponsored legislation to counter or prohibit sales of “technologies” may be used to commit human rights atrocities.
The bill, H.R. 1025-UIGHUR Act of 2019 that Rep. Demings cosponsored with fellow Floridian's Reps. Ted Yoho (R) and Alcee Hastings (D), was penned specifically to bring attention to the Chinese potential use of technology to repress and persecute the Uyghur people living in the Xinjiang.
“I have cosponsored legislation to prohibit the sale of technologies that could be used to facilitate human rights abuses against the Uyghur people,” tweeted Demings “We cannot stay silent in the face of persecution. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
The Trump administration has now placed 28 Chinese government offices, security bureaus, and tech companies on a “blacklist” over the allegations these groups have conducted or helped the Bejing commit human rights violations.
In a statement, the US Commerce Department said: "these entities have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in [Xinjiang]." (CNN)
