Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020
Floor Speech
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Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank him and Mr. McCaul, Mr. Engel, the chairman, ranking member, and senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee for bringing this important legislation to the floor. It is an honor to be here with all of them, and with Mr. Suozzi, who has been a champion for religious rights throughout the world.
Madam Speaker, Mr. Smith and I go back decades in our fight for human rights in China, whether it is in Tibet, whether it is in Beijing, whether it is in Hong Kong. The list goes on and on. I thank Mr. Smith for his ongoing leadership.
Madam Speaker, I also thank the chairman of the committee, Mr. McGovern, the chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Mr. Smith is the ranking member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and I thank Mr. Smith.
Today in this House of Representatives, in a very strong, bipartisan way, we are sending a message to the persecuted that they are not forgotten. We are saying to the President of China: ``You may tell these people that they are forgotten, but they aren't.''
On the floor of the House of Representatives, in bipartisan, bicameral legislation, we are here in support of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, strong bipartisan legislation to address and defend the rights and dignity of the Uyghur people from China's oppression.
Today, again, we are sending that message even as we are heartbroken as to what China's people are suffering in terms of COVID-19 and that crisis. We are sad about that.
Madam Speaker, I thank Chris Smith, again, and Mr. Engel and Mr. McCaul. I thank Senator Rubio, also, for his leadership on this legislation. He has been a champion working with us on the China issues.
Beijing's barbarous actions targeting the Uyghur people are an outrage to the collective conscience of the world. Across Xinjiang, a Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Uyghur people and other Muslim minorities face brutal oppression, as Mr. Smith was pointing out:
A pervasive state of mass surveillance and predictive policing used to discriminate and violate the human rights of minorities;
The mass incarceration of more than 1 million--and that is a small number, a very conservative, small number--innocent people, with beatings, solitary confinement, deprivation of food and medical treatment, and the number is probably much larger than that;
Forced sterilizations and other forms of torture;
Incidents of mass shootings, extrajudicial killings, and the intimidation and suppression of journalists courageously exposing the truth.
Today, with this overwhelming bipartisan legislation, the United States Congress is taking a firm step to counter Beijing's horrific human rights abuses against the Uyghurs.
In the House, when brought to the floor in December, this legislation passed on a nearly unanimous basis. In the Senate, it passed under unanimous consent, with more than 50 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle.
This legislation helps uncover the truth, requiring reports by the Director of National Intelligence, State Department, and FBI about the depths of the crisis and about China's campaign against journalists exposing the facts.
It creates accountability and ensures transparency of Chinese and foreign companies involved in the camps, and it engages the full firepower of American law and leadership, including by urging the application of targeted sanctions against those involved in the oppression of the Uyghur people.
We must continue to raise a drumbeat and shine a light on the abuse perpetrated by Beijing against the Uyghurs whenever we can--from this House floor, to the State Department, to our multilateral institutions.
Last Friday, as Speaker, I had the honor of appointing Nury Turkel, a human rights champion who was born in a camp in the Xinjiang region, to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, largely focused, with Ambassador Brownback's leadership, on freedom of religion in many countries. There, I am confident that he will continue to be a powerful voice for the Uyghur people and for the cause of justice around the world.
In just over a week--just think of it--the global community will mark the solemn milestone of 31 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre, when students, workers, and citizens were gunned down as they peacefully defied an oppressive regime to demand their liberties and human rights.
Sadly, today, Beijing's human rights abuses continue--blatantly continue--targeting so many, from the decades-long abuse faced by the Tibetan people--many of us have visited Tibet and seen firsthand what is happening there--to Hong Kong's fight for democracy and the rule of law, which has once again been targeted in recent days in a very shameful way, to the jailing of journalists, human rights lawyers, Christians, and democracy advocates throughout the mainland.
To honor all who have been persecuted, we must renew our commitment to speaking out against China's human rights abuses. If America does not speak out for human rights in China because of some commercial interest, then we lose all moral authority to speak out on human rights violations anyplace in the world. It is a challenge to our conscience. We must do the right thing, and that is what we are doing today.
In honor of the millions fighting for their dignity, safety, and rights in China and around the world, I strongly urge a bipartisan vote for the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020.
I again thank those responsible, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Engel, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Smith, members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mr. Suozzi, who has been a champion, as I say, on religious freedom throughout the world.
I want to close by commending Mr. McGovern, again, for being relentless and persistent in terms of shining a bright light on human rights violations throughout world and especially in China.
Madam Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote.
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