US House of Representatives approves Uighur Act, bans Xinjiang imports over forced labor camps

The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would require the Trump administration to toughen its response to China’s crackdown on its Muslim minority in Xinjiang. The Uighur Forced Labor Prevention Act calls on the president, Donald Trump, to ban imports from China’s Xinjiang region as an attempt to stop systemic forced labor from the Uighur community.

The bill passed by a unanimous majority of 406-3 despite several US businesses expressing opposition to such a move. The bill still needs to be passed by the Senate before it would go into effect.

In response, US diplomats may soon be barred from entering Xinjiang. Beijing is considering banning all US diplomatic passport holders from entering Xinjiang in retaliation for US legislation that would punish Chinese officials for human rights abuses.

Source: The Guardian