Pappas Votes to Hold China Accountable for Human Rights Violations

Today, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) voted to take action against China's brutal oppression of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities, as well as condemn the Chinese government for the disappearance and silencing of Peng Shuai.

"The Chinese government must be held accountable for the state-sponsored genocide of Uyghur Muslims and its longstanding, horrific human rights violations," said Congressman Chris Pappas. "These bipartisan measures show the United States will stand with those who are unjustly persecuted and hold China accountable for its systemic human rights abuses. Moving forward, we must continue to stand against China's human rights abuses and hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its genocide against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities."

Background:

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act authorizes the President to apply targeted visa and asset sanctions on any person responsible for the labor trafficking of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), directs the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to address forced labor, and requires disclosures by publicly traded companies in their quarterly and annual reports about any engagement with entities building or running detention facilities and developing or providing surveillance systems in the XUAR, or engagement with any persons subject to U.S. sanctions, or responsible for, or complicit in, committing atrocities in the XUAR.

The Resolution Condemning Uyghur Genocide in the People's Republic of China condemns the genocide being committed by the People's Republic of China (PRC), under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party, against the Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups, and calls upon President Biden to refer these atrocities to the United Nations for investigation under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, seek multilateral sanctions against the PRC at the U.N. Security Council, and take all possible actions to bring the genocide to an end.

The Resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Beijing should immediately guarantee the safety and freedom of tennis star Peng Shuai, condemns the People's Republic of China for silencing Peng Shuai after her allegations of sexual abuse and assault by a top Chinese Communist Party official, criticizes the International Olympic Committee for acquiescing to the PRC's narrative, and calls on the PRC to guarantee Peng's safety and freedom, open an independent investigation into her allegations, and allow her to leave the People's Republic of China if she so chooses without repercussions for any family that remains in the country.

In 2020, Rep. Pappas voted to pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act, bipartisan legislation that requires issuers of securities to publicly disclose their activities related to China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Specifically, issuers must disclose the importation of manufactured goods and materials that originated or are sourced from that region, as well as details about the commercial activity, gross revenue and net profits, and future import plans regarding these goods and materials. Furthermore, issuers must disclose whether any of these goods or materials are from forced labor camps.

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