World Uyghur Congress, 9 April 2019

On Saturday, April 6, hundreds gathered at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC, to show their support for the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act and the UIGHUR Act. The bills call for a response from multiple US government departments, including the State Department, Commerce and the FBI, and if passed will represent a step forward in pressuring the Chinese government to change course on its crackdown in East Turkistan.

Attendees came out to urge Congress to act quickly to pass the bills with many signing a petition addressed to Secretaries Pompeo and Mnuchin calling for Global Magnitsky Act sanctions to be applied to Chinese officials responsible for grave human rights violations in East Turkistan.

At present, 28 Senators and 46 House members have sponsored the bill with 16 House co-sponsors for the UIGHUR Act. Senator Marco Rubio and Representatives James McGovern, Chris Smith, Tom Suozzi and Jennifer Wexton provided statements of support that were read at the rally.

Representatives of numerous faith communities and civil society groups spoke out in support, including Imam Malik Mujahid of SoundVision, Bhuchung Tsering, the Vice President of the International Campaign for Tibet, Holocaust survivor Sami Steignmann, and founder of Initiatives for China, Dr. Yang Jianli, along with representatives of the World Uyghur Congress and the Uyghur Human Rights Project.