Eni Faleomavaega: “With passage of this measure, Congress will shine its spotlight on the brutal suppression of the Muslim Uyghur people by…”

“With passage of this measure, Congress will shine its spotlight on the brutal suppression of the Muslim Uyghur people by the Chinese Government, and the despicable retaliatory actions of the Chinese Government against the leading Uyghur human rights voice, Rebiya Kadeer. Similar to the Tibetans, the Turkic Muslim Uyghur have long sought to protect their cultural survival in the face of the Chinese Government-supported migration of the Han Chinese to the Uyghur homeland. Chinese authorities severely restrict economic and educational freedoms for the Uyghurs, regularly destroying books and closing places of worship. Most trials of Uyghur prisoners are held in secret and many political prisoners are routinely executed without the knowledge of their families. Thousands of Uyghur political prisoners are held without charge or even trial and are routinely abused or tortured.”