WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Curtis (R-UT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced a bipartisan resolution that condemns a law passed by the Chinese Communist Party and set to go into effect on July 1 that targets ethnic minorities and expresses support for Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other ethnic minorities in China. Once the law takes effect next month, it will erode the rights of minority groups in China through the targeting of language and culture in public settings. It also includes a clause allowing the government to target people and groups outside of China it deems accountable for undermining Chinese “ethnic unity,” threatening the sovereignty of nations around the world.
“The Chinese Communist Party continues to violate the rights of Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other minority groups in China with its horrendous attempts at cultural and religious erasure. This new law doesn’t only threaten those within China, but also those living outside its borders,” said Senator Rosen. “Our bipartisan resolution shows support from both sides of the aisle to call out the blatant suppression of minority rights and highlights the importance of protecting cultural and religious freedom everywhere. ”
“The Chinese Communist Party’s new ethnic conformity law signals an escalation in Beijing’s longstanding campaign to erase the cultural identities of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, Christians, and other minorities—all while giving the CCP a pretext to intimidate critics far beyond China’s borders,” said Senator Curtis. “As leader of the free world, the United States must stand firmly with those facing persecution and make clear that the CCP’s efforts to export repression, silence those who speak out about its human rights abuses, and undermine our sovereignty will not be tolerated.”
“As long as the People’s Republic of China continues to bulldoze the human rights of Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other vulnerable groups, the United States must do everything we can to call out this systemic abuse, protect religious freedom, and defend the rights of China’s ethnic minorities,” said Senator Merkley. “Our bipartisan resolution rejects the PRC’s efforts both to codify coercive assimilation and cultural erasure and to expand those policies beyond its borders through transnational repression.”
“Communist China continues to prove that it sees freedom as a threat. The CCP’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Law is a blatant attempt to enforce Chinese law on American shores. I proudly stand with my colleagues in condemning the abuses of the CCP and standing up for human rights,” said Senator Banks.
###