US lawmakers have renewed their call for sanctions against China’s top official in the Xinjiang region on the anniversary of riots that left nearly 200 dead. Around one million Uighurs or members of other mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking communities have been detained in a vast network of camps in the name of counterterrorism.
More than 40 US lawmakers across the political spectrum onApril 3 called on the Trump administration to slap sanctions on Chen Quanguo,the Communist Party secretary in Xinjiang. But the chairs of theCongressional-Executive Commission on China, a US government body that monitorshuman rights in the country, said the administration has not yet responded tothe letter.”On this sad anniversary, we reiterate thatcall to hold Chinese officials accountable,” said the chairs, RepublicanSenator Marco Rubio and Democratic Representative Jim McGovern. “The Chinesegovernment has operated with impunity in (Xinjiang) for far too long,”they wrote.