US Religious Freedom Panel Welcomes Uyghur Human Rights Bill By Trump

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Thursday welcomed President Donald Trump's signing of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, thereby enacting it into law.

The Senate and House of Representatives passed the bill last month.

"It is a great day for American citizens as well as Uyghur and other Turkic people in China who have been subject to ghastly human rights abuses by the Communist Party of China," USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel stated.

"Because of the U.S. government's commitment to religious freedom, for the first time in years, we have reason to hope for a better future for Muslims living in China."

The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act directs the administration to impose financial sanctions and visa bans under the Global Magnitsky Act against Chinese government officials responsible for the persecution of Uyghur and other Muslims.

The law also requires federal government agencies to report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang and attempts by Chinese government agents to harass Uyghurs and Chinese nationals in the United States.

"We urge the Trump Administration to swiftly implement this new law by sanctioning Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, former Political and Legal Affairs Commission Chief Zhu Hailun, Hikvision Chairman Chen Zongnian, and any other Chinese official responsible for the crimes against humanity occurring in Xinjiang," USCIRF added.