Latest news with #RFAUyghur
American Military News
02-08-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
U.S. bill targets Chinese repression of Uyghurs
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers this week announced a bill that would broaden existing sanctions to combat what one senator called 'a deliberate and systematic campaign to destroy the Uyghur people' — one of a set of bills targeting China over its treatment of minority groups, dissidents and Taiwan as bilateral trade negotiations continue. The measure would expand the sanctions under a previous law to include actions like forced family separations and organ harvesting. It would also deny entry to the U.S. for people found to have participated in forced abortions or sterilizations. In interviews with RFA Uyghur, Uyghur women have detailed birth control procedures they say were forced on them by authorities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The bill would bar the U.S. military from buying Chinese seafood out of concern that Uyghur and North Korean forced labor is used in its production. It would direct the State Department to create a plan for countering Chinese propaganda that denies 'the genocide, crimes against humanity, and other egregious human rights abusese experienced by Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethic groups' in Xinjiang. It would also appropriate $2 million for the Smithsonian to create research and programs that would preserve Uyghur language and culture threatened by the Chinese government. 'The evidence is clear. The Chinese Communist Party has waged a deliberate and systematic campaign to destroy the Uyghur people through forced sterilization, mass internment, and forced labor,' Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), the chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and one of the bill's co-sponsors, said in a statement. 'This legislation ensures the United States holds accountable not only the perpetrators of these horrific crimes but also those who support or profit from them.' Joining Sullivan in co-sponsoring the bill are Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.). Rushan Abbas, executive director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, a U.S.-based nonprofit advocacy group, and the chairwoman of the Executive Committee of the World Uyghur Congress, an international organization promoting Uyghur rights, said the measure's introduction is 'a critical step toward dismantling the systems of control and repression that have enabled genocide and devastated Uyghur families and communities.' 'For Uyghurs who have endured years of silence and separation, this bill represents a meaningful step toward exposing the truth, advancing justice, and creating pathways to family reunification,' Abbas told RFA. U.S. lawmakers this week also planned to release a bill that would aim to help Taiwan and support countries that maintain official diplomatic relations with its government, as well as a measure to combat efforts by any foreign government to reach beyond its borders to intimidate, harass or harm activists, dissidents or journalists. In response to the bills, China's foreign ministry on Tuesday rejected U.S. accusations on Xinjiang and Taiwan. 'The related accusations are entirely fabricated and are malicious slander,' the ministry said. The measures come as an Aug. 12 deadline looms for a durable trade deal between the U.S. and China. A U.S. official told reporters that progress is being made toward a deal, Reuters reported Friday.
Radio Free Asia
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Radio Free Asia
U.S. bill targets Chinese repression of Uyghurs
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers this week announced a bill that would broaden existing sanctions to combat what one senator called 'a deliberate and systematic campaign to destroy the Uyghur people' — one of a set of bills targeting China over its treatment of minority groups, dissidents and Taiwan as bilateral trade negotiations continue. The measure would expand the sanctions under a previous law to include actions like forced family separations and organ harvesting. It would also deny entry to the U.S. for people found to have participated in forced abortions or sterilizations. In interviews with RFA Uyghur, Uyghur women have detailed birth control procedures they say were forced on them by authorities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The bill would bar the U.S. military from buying Chinese seafood out of concern that Uyghur and North Korean forced labor is used in its production. It would direct the State Department to create a plan for countering Chinese propaganda that denies 'the genocide, crimes against humanity, and other egregious human rights abusese experienced by Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethic groups' in Xinjiang. It would also appropriate $2 million for the Smithsonian to create research and programs that would preserve Uyghur language and culture threatened by the Chinese government. 'The evidence is clear. The Chinese Communist Party has waged a deliberate and systematic campaign to destroy the Uyghur people through forced sterilization, mass internment, and forced labor,' Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), the chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and one of the bill's co-sponsors, said in a statement. 'This legislation ensures the United States holds accountable not only the perpetrators of these horrific crimes but also those who support or profit from them.' Joining Sullivan in co-sponsoring the bill are Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.). Rushan Abbas, executive director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, a U.S.-based nonprofit advocacy group, and the chairwoman of the Executive Committee of the World Uyghur Congress, an international organization promoting Uyghur rights, said the measure's introduction is 'a critical step toward dismantling the systems of control and repression that have enabled genocide and devastated Uyghur families and communities.' 'For Uyghurs who have endured years of silence and separation, this bill represents a meaningful step toward exposing the truth, advancing justice, and creating pathways to family reunification,' Abbas told RFA. U.S. lawmakers this week also planned to release a bill that would aim to help Taiwan and support countries that maintain official diplomatic relations with its government, as well as a measure to combat efforts by any foreign government to reach beyond its borders to intimidate, harass or harm activists, dissidents or journalists. In response to the bills, China's foreign ministry on Tuesday rejected U.S. accusations on Xinjiang and Taiwan. 'The related accusations are entirely fabricated and are malicious slander,' the ministry said. The measures come as an Aug. 12 deadline looms for a durable trade deal between the U.S. and China. A U.S. official told reporters that progress is being made toward a deal, Reuters reported Friday.
The Diplomat
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Diplomat
Silencing RFA Uyghur Echoes Past Mistakes
Forty-five years ago, the U.S. silenced Uyghur voices in the name of diplomacy. Today, they are being silenced in the name of austerity. In 1979, the United States shut down Uyghur-language radio broadcasts to appease the Chinese government ahead of Deng Xiaoping's visit to Washington. Forty-five years later, Uyghur voices are being silenced once again, this time in the name of budget cuts. In March, the Trump administration eliminated Radio Free Asia's Uyghur Service, the only source of uncensored Uyghur-language news in the world. Whether for diplomatic gain or domestic political theater, the result is the same: the silencing of our voices and the empowerment of Chinese state propaganda. The U.S. must not repeat this mistake. RFA Uyghur was the first outlet to confirm mass deaths in Chinese internment camps in 2017. When international journalists were blocked from reporting in our homeland, RFA Uyghur revealed that internment camps were still operating despite government claims to the contrary. Its closure is not just a blow to press freedom; it is the silencing of an entire people amid an ongoing genocide. Starting in the late 1960s, the Uyghur-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcasted 15 minutes a day into Central Asia and East Turkistan. The programming — uncensored news, history, culture, and politics — was a lifeline for Uyghurs desperate for truthful reporting. Just before Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's historic visit to Washington in 1979, RFE/RL's Uyghur language service was abruptly closed. U.S. officials, eager to strengthen ties with China to counter the Soviet Union, proactively shut down Uyghur language programming to win favor with the Chinese government ahead of the important meeting. Just 15 minutes of independent Uyghur journalism was important enough to be factored into high-level diplomatic calculations. Later, we were told that the directive came from President Jimmy Carter's national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, a staunch anti-Soviet who viewed China as a key partner against Moscow. Erkin Alptekin, a senior staff member at RFE/RL's Uyghur service, wrote in a letter to The Washington Post that the U.S. government was 'trying to eradicate a presumed source of embarrassment to blossoming U.S.-Chinese relations.' In other words, Uyghurs were collateral damage in a global chess game. Under the leadership of Alptekin, Uyghurs advocated strongly to try to save RFE/RL's Uyghur service. Some in Congress listened and tried to right the wrong. In 1979, Rep. John M. Murphy introduced urging RFE/RL to resume Uyghur-language programming. The resolution did not pass, but it gave us a spark of momentum to keep fighting for independent Uyghur journalism. When I was hired as a journalist at RFE/RL in 1988, there was no Uyghur language programming; instead, I worked for RFE/RL's Tajik Service. Even so, the 1979 resolution inspired us to keep advocating for Uyghur language programming. We finally succeeded in 1998, when Radio Free Asia's Uyghur Service was founded. I'll never forget the first broadcast, when independent reporting in our language finally reached our homeland for the first time in nearly 20 years. Now, history is repeating itself. With the elimination of RFA's Uyghur Service, the Chinese government faces one less challenge to its disinformation campaigns. CCP-run newspapers openly celebrated the closure of RFA and VOA. Since March, Chinese state media have added 16 new Uyghur-language radio frequencies, flooding the airwaves with propaganda. Abroad, Beijing's influence expands through tourism-promotion, all-expense-paid tours for foreign vloggers, censorship on Beijing-controlled applications like TikTok, and transnational repression campaigns that go unchecked. We must learn from history instead of repeating our past mistakes. China is far more powerful now than it was when Uyghur language programming was first shut down in 1979. Allowing CCP propaganda to go unchallenged is even more dangerous this time. When the first Uyghur service was cut, China was opening its doors to the West, and allowing Uyghurs slightly more freedom. But now, China is waging a brutal genocide against our people. Uncensored Uyghur journalism is more important than ever before. Sacrificing RFA Uyghur Service at such a desperate time for our people creates a perception that the U.S. only supports fundamental freedom when convenient. Forty-five years ago, the U.S. silenced Uyghur voices in the name of diplomacy. Today, they are being silenced in the name of austerity. Either way, the result is the same: empowering the Chinese government's repression and abandoning a people struggling to survive genocide. The United States must reverse this dangerous decision and restore Radio Free Asia's Uyghur Service. The cost is modest. The stakes could not be higher. Let us not make the same mistake twice.
