Xinjiang
February 1, 2022
(Washington)—Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China today released a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken seeking the U.S. State Department’s diplomatic intervention in the cases of Uyghur and Kazakh asylum-seekers in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Kazakhstan. The Chairs note that the refoulement of asylum seekers to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a violation of international law as they are at serious risk for arbitrary detention, torture, and other forms of severe mistreatment upon return.
January 18, 2022
(Washington)—Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, released today a letter sent to United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet asking her to publicly release her office’s assessment of human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) before the start of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The High Commissioner signaled in September 2021 that such a report was being finalized in her office.
January 14, 2022
(Washington)—Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, issued the following statement on the eighth anniversary of the detention of Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti:
January 12, 2022
(Washington)—Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), released a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) seeking further information about IOC contracts with Anta Sports and Hengyuanxiang Group (HYX Group). Both companies have stated publicly that they use cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The CECC’s ranking member from the House of Representatives, Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ), joined the bipartisan letter.
December 16, 2021
(Washington)—Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, released a letter today to NBCUniversal regarding its coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics being held in the middle of a genocide.
Techno-authoritarianism poses a serious threat to traditional notions of privacy, democratic governance models globally, and the future of an open and free internet. The Chinese government’s embrace of mass biometric collection technologies underpins the most pervasive surveillance state the world has ever seen. The Chinese model of extensive censorship and surveillance continues to spread to governments with poor human rights records that repress and control populations through technology made in China.
October 20, 2021
(Washington)—Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today released a letter to Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Troy Miller seeking information on whether CBP has stopped imports from companies that have publicly endorsed the use of cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and that have advertised its use in their products.
The Chinese government not only continues to repress its people but also seeks the repatriation of those searching for protection elsewhere. It has sought the forcible return of Uyghurs and Kazakhs from Kazakhstan and Thailand, and reportedly threatened to withhold COVID-19 vaccines until the Turkish government turned over Uyghurs. In Hong Kong, those seeking refuge abroad face arrests and exit bans.
September 10, 2021
(Washington)—Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today released a letter to Steven Kolb, Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and Ari Emanuel, Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor Group Holdings, asking them to affirm that exhibitors at New York Fashion Week do not use cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and to prohibit any company or designer supporting the use of XUAR cotton from exhibiting now and in the future.