U.S legislation for sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for oppression of Uighur Muslims

U.S legislation for sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for oppression of Uighur Muslims

Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-II – International Relations

In News:

• Recently, the USA House of Representatives approved legislation which called for sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for oppression of Uighur Muslims. 
• The bill has been sent to the President to veto or sign into law.

Key takeaways 

• It has been reported that several Chinese officials are responsible for repression of Uighurs and other Muslim groups in China’s Xinjiang province. 
• The United Nations estimates that more than a million Muslims have been detained in camps.
• The bill also calls on U.S. companies or individuals operating in the Xinjiang region to take steps to ensure their products do not include parts using forced labor.
• China has, however, maintained denial about mistreatment and has claimed that the camps provide vocational training.

Important value additions 

Uighurs Muslims

• They are a predominantly Muslim minority Turkic ethnic group. 
• Their origins can be traced to Central and East Asia.
• They are considered to be one of the 55 officially recognized ethnic minority communities in China.
• However, China recognises the community only as a regional minority and rejects that they are an indigenous group.
• The largest population of the Uighur ethnic community lives in Xinjiang region of China.
• They also live in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Image Credit- The Economists