Bill Text: TX HR1331 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Condemning the Uyghur genocide committed by China's government.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-19 - Referred to State Affairs [HR1331 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR1331-Introduced.html
87R21035 TBO-D | ||
By: Reynolds | H.R. No. 1331 |
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WHEREAS, The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim, | ||
Turkic-speaking ethnic group with a population of approximately 11 | ||
million in Xinjiang, a northwestern region of China; and | ||
WHEREAS, Since 2017, China's government has forcibly | ||
transferred more than one million Uyghurs to reeducation camps, and | ||
experts estimate that there are over 1,000 camps throughout the | ||
country, including hundreds in Xinjiang; the arbitrary detention of | ||
Uyghurs follows a series of 2014 speeches delivered by China's | ||
president, Xi Jinping, who advocated for the use of "dictatorship" | ||
to fight the "toxicity of religious extremism"; and | ||
WHEREAS, Many former detainees who fled China have spoken out | ||
about the camps' harsh conditions; they report being forced to | ||
renounce Islam and to pledge loyalty to the Chinese Communist | ||
Party, as well as being subjected to strict surveillance, torture, | ||
sexual abuse, and compulsory sterilization; in addition, an | ||
international tribunal concluded that the Chinese government has | ||
harvested the organs of some detainees against their will; and | ||
WHEREAS, Thousands of Uyghurs have been involuntarily sent to | ||
work in the factories of large, multinational corporations; in June | ||
2020, Congress passed legislation that requires U.S. businesses | ||
involved with Xinjiang to ensure that their activities do not | ||
contribute to human rights violations; and | ||
WHEREAS, In January 2021, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike | ||
Pompeo declared that China is committing crimes against humanity | ||
and genocide against Uyghurs, and current U.S. Secretary of State | ||
Antony Blinken later affirmed this declaration; subsequently, the | ||
Canadian and Dutch parliaments passed nonbinding motions to use the | ||
term "genocide" in reference to China's actions against Uyghurs; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, The atrocities committed by China's government have | ||
infringed on the rights of countless people, and any past, present, | ||
or future efforts to support the Uyghur genocide should be | ||
condemned; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby strongly condemn the actions of president Xi | ||
Jinping and the Chinese government, recognize the Chinese treatment | ||
of Uyghurs as genocide, and urge all multinational corporations to | ||
stop all use of forced labor in their factories and facilities. |