US House passes bill to punish China over Uyghur Muslims' oppression

Days after announcing diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics in China, the Biden administration has doubled down on its attack on Beijing.

The US House has passed a legislation designed to punish China for its treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the country’s Xinjiang province.

The move will further anger Beijing and add to the rising US-China tensions.

The bill would require the US Department of Homeland Security to create a list of entities that collaborate with the Chinese government in the repression of the Uyghurs, Bloomberg has reported.

"The People’s Republic of China is waging a brutal campaign of repression against the Uyghur people and other minorities with mass incarceration, torture and forced labor,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during a news conference Wednesday before the vote. “With these bills, the House is combating this horrific situation and shining a light on Beijing’s abuse.”

China has consistently rejected the genocide accusations. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian last week called allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang “a lie” and said the bill “is pure political manipulation with the intention to undermine Xinjiang’s stability and development under the pretext of human rights.”

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