[Epoch Times, December 15, 2021]The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the final coordinated version of The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act) numbered HR6256 on Tuesday (December 14) evening, symbolizing the bill Take a big step forward towards completing the legislation. The bill will prohibit any products produced by forced labor from entering the U.S. market. Next, the bill will be sent to the Senate awaiting a vote, and it is expected to receive strong cross-party support. The bill is expected to become law before the end of the year.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the HR1155 “Prevention of Forced Uyghur Labor Law” with an overwhelming result. However, the content of the House of Representatives version is different from the version of the bill of the same name passed by the Senate this year, so it still needs to be negotiated and adjusted after it is passed by the two houses. After the content is consistent, it will be sent back to the respective houses for voting.
On Tuesday morning, Democrat Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) tweeted that he and Sen. Marco Rubio, R -FL) has reached an agreement on the final text of the bill, “We will advance the bill in both houses and send it to President Biden’s table as soon as possible.”
“Forced labor is a serious violation of human rights. Importing goods produced by forced labor is illegal under U.S. law,” McGovern said in a speech before the court meeting on Tuesday evening. The genocide and crimes against humanity committed by ethnic Muslims, including key forced labor practices, are forced to introduce this legislation.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced on Tuesday afternoon that she included the “Prevention of Forced Uyghur Labor Law” in the voting schedule of the day, saying that the Senate and the House of Representatives are actively preparing to pass this as soon as possible. bill.
“The Chinese government’s ongoing genocide of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities is a challenge to the conscience of the world. This requires strong and urgent action by the international community,” said Pelosi, who often speaks on human rights issues in China, in writing The statement said. “Congress will continue to condemn and confront the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights violations in Xinjiang and the region on the basis of the two parties and houses, and hold them accountable.”
According to the “Prevention of Forced Uyghur Labor Law”, the bill will require the Department of Homeland Security to draw up a list of entities that cooperate with the Chinese government to oppress the Xinjiang Uyghur Muslim minorities and prohibit all products produced through forced labor from entering the U.S. market .
It is worth noting that the final coordinated version of the bill reached a new consensus on the effective date of the Xinjiang commodity ban. The bill stipulates that the import ban on commodities produced in Xinjiang will be implemented 180 days after the bill takes effect. This is significantly shorter than the 300 days stipulated in the original version of the Senate, and at the same time longer than the 120 days set forth in the original version of the House of Representatives.
The “Prevention of Forced Uyghur Labor Law”, which has been jointly signed by 110 bipartisan lawmakers, will establish a “rebuttable presumption” system. Unless certified by the U.S. authorities that there is no forced labor, it will be assumed to be in Xinjiang. The manufactured products use forced labor, so the import of these products is prohibited in accordance with the 1930 Tariff Act.
In addition, the final coordinated version of the bill also deleted some provisions in the original House of Representatives text. These terms require the aforementioned companies to disclose to the American Stock Exchange any transactions with entities associated with Xinjiang’s surveillance or detention of Uighurs and other ethnic minority Muslims.
“This bill is vital and necessary to end or at least solve the problem of us becoming accomplices in Xi Jinping’s genocide,” Republican Representative Smith (Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ) spoke at the House meeting on Tuesday evening. Say. Representative Smith and McGovern are the main co-signers of the House version of the bill.
After the House of Representatives completes the deliberation process of the bill, the next bill will be submitted to the Senate, and it is expected that the Senate will vote on it as soon as Wednesday. The bill needs to be approved by the Senate Chamber before it can be formally sent to the White House, signed by the president, and complete the legislative process.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has vigorously promoted the “Prevention of Forced Uyghur Labor Law” in the Senate, issued a statement on Tuesday (December 14), saying: “The United States is so dependent on China that we are The slave labor that made clothes, solar panels and other products for us turned a blind eye,” said Republican Senator Rubio. “Everything is changing today. Our “Prevention of Forced Uyghur Labor Law” will require companies that import goods to the United States. Prove that their supply chain is not contaminated by slave labor.”
“It’s time to end our economic dependence on China,” Rubio said.
“The United States must send a loud and clear message to oppose genocide and slave labor, no matter where it takes place,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said in a written statement. The bill ensures that U.S. consumers and companies can purchase goods without inadvertently becoming accomplices in China’s terrible human rights violations.”
“As the Chinese government tries to clean up their genocide with the upcoming Olympics and win propaganda, it is more important that we are more vocal and take action than ever before.” Merkley said.
The White House said on Tuesday that it is consistent with Congress’s position on the human rights issue in Xinjiang and that “the government has been providing technical assistance” to ensure that this legislation can be implemented.
“We agree with Congress that we can and must take action to hold the People’s Republic of China accountable for genocide and human rights violations and resolve the forced labor problem in Xinjiang,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters.
(Transfer from Voice of America)
Editor in charge: Xia Yu#
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