What's in the bill?
The purpose of the bill is "to address gross violations of universally recognised human rights, including the mass internment of over 1,000,000 Uighurs". It also accuses China of "systematically discriminating" against Uighurs by "denying them a range of civil and political rights, including the freedoms of expression, religion, movement and a fair trial". The bill details some of the policies allegedly carried out by China against Muslims in Xinjiang. These include:- "Pervasive, high-tech surveillance, including the collection of DNA samples from children."
- "The use of QR codes outside homes to gather information on how frequently individuals pray."
- "Facial and voice recognition software and "predictive policing" databases."
What was the reaction in China?
China's foreign ministry called the bill "malicious" and urged the US to stop "interfering in China's domestic affairs". "The bill deliberately smears the human rights condition in Xinjiang and viciously attacks the Chinese government's Xinjiang policy," said foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying. "We urge the US to correct its mistakes at once, prevent this bill from becoming law, and stop using Xinjiang-related issues to interfere China's internal affairs." China also reacted angrily to the Hong Kong bill - suspending visits by US Navy ships and aircraft to Hong Kong, and issuing sanctions against US-based human rights groupsWhat's going on in Xinjiang?
Rights groups say that hundreds of thousands of Muslims are detained in high-security prison camps across Xinjiang. The Chinese authorities say the Uighurs are being educated in "vocational training centres" in order to combat violent religious extremism. But evidence shows many are being detained for simply expressing their faith - for example, praying or wearing a veil - or for having overseas connections to places like Turkey. Records seen by the BBC show China is also deliberately separating Muslim children from their families. This is an attempt to "raise a new generation cut off from original roots, religious beliefs and their own language," Dr Adrian Zenz, a German researcher told BBC News earlier this year. "I believe the evidence points to what we must call cultural genocide." China's ambassador to the UK denied the allegations, saying they were "lies".DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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