Rubio, Blackburn, Colleagues Demand Sanctions on Companies Enabling CCP Genocide Against Uyghur Muslims

Press Release

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Senate colleagues sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo urging the Department to add five companies to the "Entity List" due to their roles enabling the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) genocide of Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim ethnic groups. The Entity List imposes licensing requirements for the export or transfer of certain technologies to individuals and companies that have taken actions counter to the U.S. government's national security or foreign policy interests. The senators' letter follows research published by the Hoover Institution that exposed five companies' affiliation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Automation, which is working to weaponize surveillance functions on behalf of the CCP.

Rubio and Blackburn were joined in sending the letter by Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Cornyn (R-TX), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Todd Young (R-IN), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Rubio is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

The senators, "implore[d] the Department of Commerce to restrict trade with entities in the People's Republic of China (PRC) whose products and services support egregious crimes against civilians."

"While the U.S. government has made strides towards restricting business with some PRC entities, efforts are still inadequate with respect to PRC research institutions and their affiliates in light of their contributions to the mass weaponization of surveillance functions," the senators wrote. "Potential partners must be thoroughly vetted to maintain our own national security and to outwardly emphasize that we do not condone the immoral behavior of the CCP."

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