Chairs Release 2024 Annual Report

December 20, 2024
Press Release

December 20, 2024

(WASHINGTON, DC)—U.S. Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chair and Cochair of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), issued today the Commission’s 2024 Annual Report on human rights conditions and rule of law developments in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as mandated by Title III of Public Law 106-286.     

The full report and an executive summary are available for download on the CECC’s website.   

“In the 2024 annual report released today, the CECC once again stands with the Chinese people against the Chinese Communist Party,” said CECC Chair Smith. “Our Commission and its dedicated staff have compiled a compendium of the worst of the CCP’s human rights abuses, which can stand as a prosecutor’s brief for a future tribunal holding Xi Jinping and his accomplices accountable. Tellingly, we also take to task those Western corporations that are complicit in such abuses, including those who utilize supply chains contaminated by forced labor. Never again will they be able to say, ‘We did not know.’”

“The Chinese government’s assault on human dignity not only affects people in China but also increasingly those around the world, including the United States,” said CECC Co-chair Merkley. “The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has reported on these human rights abuses across borders and inspired legislation such as my Transnational Repression Policy Act. Once again, the Commission has issued a quality product that documents the poor state of human rights and the rule of law in China. When the Chinese government refuses to recognize the aspirations for freedom and dignity of its own people, we are duty-bound to speak out on their behalf.  I hope Congress and the incoming Trump Administration will act on the CECC’s recommendations for action.”

The 2024 Annual Report provides a detailed account of the People’s Republic of China‘s (PRC) systematic abuses of human rights—most brutally implemented in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tibet, and Hong Kong—and documents the widespread use of arbitrary detention and torture targeting ethnic minorities, human rights lawyers, and advocates for free speech, religious freedom, and an independent civil society. The report also includes a chapter on the PRC’s efforts to intimidate U.S. citizens and others critical of the PRC’s human rights record around the world. The protection of U.S. citizens from transnational repression remains a key issue of concern for the Commission, and the report details the tools used by the PRC in this effort, including cyberattacks, smear campaigns, and threats against individuals and the detention of their family members.  

The report reflects the view of CECC Commissioners that the PRC’s complicity in atrocity crimes and forced labor, and its efforts to use technology to coerce and control the Chinese people and undermine democratic freedoms globally, pose a distinct challenge to the United States' interest in maintaining universally recognized human rights norms and supply chains free of forced or prison labor.       

Other issues highlighted in the 2024 Annual Report’s 20 chapters include— 

  • The continuing atrocities being committed in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
  • The growing risk faced by global businesses of complicity in human rights abuses, particularly in the use of forced labor and the creation of mass biometric surveillance systems in China. 
  • The suppression of labor rights activists, particularly in light of the increased number of strikes and labor protests occurring in the past year.
  • Ongoing efforts to dismantle Hong Kong's democratic freedoms, applying national security laws to imprison over one thousand political prisoners.
  • Efforts to destroy the language and culture of ethnic minority groups, including Tibetans, Southern Mongolians, and Uyghurs.
  • Expanded efforts to control civil society organizations and advocacy deemed politically threatening, including harsh crackdowns on religious believers and communities.
  • The resumption of forced repatriations of North Koreans from China.

The report also includes recommendations for congressional and executive branch action, highlighting the Commission’s many bipartisan legislative priorities. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act—which was conceived, drafted, and secured by the bipartisan leadership of the Commission — is an example of the Chairs commitment to enact important legislation that advances U.S. human rights diplomacy and secures vulnerable supply chains from forced labor.  The UFLPA is the strongest action taken anywhere in the world to address the importation of goods made by forced labor, and robust implementation remained a priority of Commission reporting, hearings, advocacy, and legislative initiatives, including championing additional funding for the work of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) and seeking an end to U.S. Government procurement of seafood processed by the forced labor of Uyghurs and North Koreans. 

In the 118th Congress, the Chairs and Commissioners championed a number of legislative initiatives, including—

The Commission also maintains a searchable Political Prisoner Database (PPD) that provides detailed information on thousands of political prisoner cases, including individuals in Hong Kong. The PPD contains 2,764 “active detentions” records of political and religious prisoners currently known or believed to be detained or imprisoned, or under coercive controls. The Commission highlighted political prisoner cases during the past year and advocated for prisoner releases, including of American citizens unjustly detained in China, via public statements and social media. A list of 12 representative cases highlighted in this year’s report can be found in the 2024 Annual Report. 

The Chairs commend the capable and professional work of the CECC’s research staff in producing the 2024 Annual Report.