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US Congress Approves China Sanctions Over Ethnic Crackdown

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - Congress voted Wednesday to toughen the U.S. response to a
   brutal Chinese crackdown on ethnic minorities, adding another factor to
   the increasingly stormy relationship between the two countries.

   The House passed a bipartisan bill that would impose sanctions on
   Chinese officials involved in the mass surveillance and detention of
   Uighurs and other ethnic groups in the western Xianjiang region, a
   campaign that has drawn muted international response because of China's
   influence around the world.

   The measure already passed the Senate and needs a signature from
   President Donald Trump, who said this week he'll "very strongly"
   consider it amid U.S. anger over China's handling of the coronavirus
   outbreak and tension over a Chinese plan to restrict civil liberties in
   Hong Kong.

   Both issues emerged, along with other sore points in the China-U.S.
   relationship, as Republican and Democratic members of Congress spoke in
   support of the bill. No one spoke against it, and it passed by a 413-1
   vote.

   "Beijing's barbarous actions targeting the Uighur people are an outrage
   to the collective conscience of the world," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
   said in a floor speech in support of the bill.

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