Dhs Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment to H.R. 1516, which would amend the definition of ``Chinese entity of concern'' in section 2 to account for the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in the People's Republic of China.

Over the past decade, Communist China has persecuted the Uyghur population for their religious and cultural practices. Xinjiang authorities have detained Uyghurs in internment camps without formal charges, forced them into slave labor, and have committed numerous other human rights abuses against the Uyghur people.

It is estimated that over 1 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been imprisoned in internment camps in China.

Academics in China have aided in the persecution of Uyghurs as well. Hu Angang and Hu Lianhe are considered to be advocates for forced assimilation of minorities to create a state race. Hu Angang heads the Institute for Contemporary China Studies at Tsinghua University. Hu Lianhe, another university researcher, is already on the Global Magnitsky human rights sanctions list.

Yet, Yale University boasts a ``strong relationship'' with Tsinghua University on their website. Harvard University signed a memorandum of understanding with Tsinghua University in 2021. The University of Pennsylvania has Tsinghua University listed on their website as a partner. There is no reason why our universities should be complicit in religious persecution.

We may hear arguments today that the definition is already too broad and that the underlying legislation will inadvertently hinder our research apparatus. However, this amendment and the underlying legislation are necessary to stop the soft power influence China is exerting on our universities.

Throughout the past year, we have seen firsthand how Iran's influence on higher education has turned college campuses into breeding grounds for anti-Semitism. We must prevent our most malicious foreign adversaries from continuing to undermine academia.

The underlying legislation does well to address Communist China's influence and espionage in our institutions of higher learning, but we can go a step further to address Communist China's crimes against the Uyghur people.

We should all agree that higher education's willingness to look the other way is unacceptable. We must act, and I encourage all of my colleagues to vote for my amendment and the underlying legislation.

Mr. Chair, I suggest voting for this amendment. It is a good amendment. The Uyghur people should not be held captive whatsoever, and the religious persecution by the people of the Communist country of China must stop.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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