S. 3744 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty 

An Act 

To condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, 

and calling for an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment of these 

communities inside and outside China. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Uyghur Human 

Rights Policy Act of 2020’’. 

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act 

is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Statement of purpose. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 5. Updating statement of United States policy toward the People’s Republic of 

China. 

Sec. 6. Imposition of sanctions. 

Sec. 7. Report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. 

Sec. 8. Report on protecting citizens and residents of the United States from intimidation and coercion. 

Sec. 9. Report on security and economic implications of repression in Xinjiang 

Uyghur Autonomous Region by the Government of the People’s Republic 

of China. 

Sec. 10. Classified report. 

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

The purpose of this Act is to direct United States resources 

to address human rights violations and abuses, including gross 

violations of human rights, by the Government of the People’s 

Republic of China through the mass surveillance and internment 

of over 1,000,000 Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members 

of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 

Region. 

SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

Congress makes the following findings: 

(1) The Government of the People’s Republic of China has 

a long history of repressing Turkic Muslims and other Muslim 

minority groups, particularly Uyghurs, in Xinjiang Uyghur 

Autonomous Region. In recent decades, central and regional 

Chinese government policies have systematically discriminated 

against these minority groups by denying them a range of 

civil and political rights, including the freedom of expression, 

religion, and movement, and the right to a fair trial. 
S. 3744—2 

(2) In May 2014, the Government of the People’s Republic 

of China launched its latest ‘‘Strike Hard Against Violent Extremism’’ campaign, using wide-scale, internationally-linked 

threats of terrorism as a pretext to justify pervasive restrictions 

on and serious human rights violations of members of ethnic 

minority communities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. 

The August 2016 appointment of former Tibet Autonomous 

Region Party Secretary Chen Quanguo to be Party Secretary 

of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region accelerated the crackdown across the region. Scholars, human rights organizations, 

journalists, and think tanks have provided ample evidence 

substantiating the establishment by the Government of the 

People’s Republic of China of internment camps. Since 2014, 

the Government of the People’s Republic of China has detained 

more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and 

members of other Muslim minority groups in these camps. 

The total ethnic minority population of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region was approximately 13,000,000 at the time of 

the last census conducted by the People’s Republic of China 

in 2010. 

(3) The Government of the People’s Republic of China’s 

actions against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members 

of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region violate international human rights laws and 

norms, including— 

(A) the International Convention on the Elimination 

of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which the People’s 

Republic of China has acceded; 

(B) the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, 

Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which 

the People’s Republic of China has signed and ratified; 

(C) the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

Rights, which the People’s Republic of China has signed; 

and 

(D) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

(4) Senior Chinese Communist Party officials, including 

current Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Party Secretary 

Chen Quanguo, who executes Chinese government policy in 

the region, and former Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 

Deputy Party Secretary Zhu Hailun, who crafted many of the 

policies implemented in the region, bear direct responsibility 

for gross human rights violations committed against Uyghurs, 

ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority 

groups. These abuses include the arbitrary detention of more 

than 1,000,000 Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members 

of other Muslim minority groups, separation of working age 

adults from children and the elderly, and the integration of 

forced labor into supply chains. 

(5) Those detained in internment camps in Xinjiang Uyghur 

Autonomous Region have described forced political indoctrination, torture, beatings, food deprivation, and denial of religious, 

cultural, and linguistic freedoms. These victims have confirmed 

that they were told by guards that the only way to secure 

their release was to demonstrate sufficient political loyalty. 

Poor conditions and lack of medical treatment at such facilities 

appear to have contributed to the deaths of some detainees, 

including the elderly and infirm. 
S. 3744—3 

(6) Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs who have obtained permanent residence or citizenship in other countries report being 

subjected to threats and harassment from Chinese officials. 

At least 5 journalists for Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur service 

have publicly detailed abuses their family members in Xinjiang 

Uyghur Autonomous Region have endured in response to their 

work exposing the Government of the People’s Republic of 

China’s abusive policies. 

(7) In September 2018, United Nations High Commissioner 

for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted in her first speech 

as High Commissioner the ‘‘deeply disturbing allegations of 

large-scale arbitrary detentions of Uighurs and other Muslim 

communities, in so-called reeducation camps across Xinjiang’’. 

(8) In 2019, the Congressional-Executive Commission on 

China concluded that, based on available evidence, the 

establishment and actions committed in the internment camps 

in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region may constitute ‘‘crimes 

against humanity’’. 

(9) On December 31, 2018, President Donald J. Trump 

signed into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 

(Public Law 115–409), which— 

(A) condemns the People’s Republic of China’s ‘‘forced 

disappearances, extralegal detentions, invasive and omnipresent surveillance, and lack of due process in judicial 

proceedings’’; 

(B) authorizes funding to promote democracy, human 

rights, and the rule of law in the People’s Republic of 

China; and 

(C) supports sanctions designations against any entity 

or individual that— 

(i) violates human rights or religious freedoms; 

or 

(ii) engages in censorship activities. 

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

It is the sense of Congress that— 

(1) the President should— 

(A) condemn abuses against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, 

Kyrgyz, members of other Muslim minority groups, and 

other persons by authorities of the People’s Republic of 

China; and 

(B) call on such authorities to immediately— 

(i) close the internment camps; 

(ii) lift all restrictions on, and ensure respect for, 

human rights; and 

(iii) allow people inside the People’s Republic of 

China to reestablish contact with their loved ones, 

friends, and associates outside the People’s Republic 

of China; 

(2) the Secretary of State should consider strategically 

employing sanctions and other tools under the International 

Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.), 

including measures resulting from the designation of the People’s Republic of China as a country of particular concern 

for religious freedom under section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of such Act 

(22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)(ii)), that directly address particularly 

severe violations of religious freedom; 
S. 3744—4 

(3) the Secretary of State should— 

(A) work with United States allies and partners and 

through multilateral institutions to condemn the mass 

arbitrary detention of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, 

and members of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang 

Uyghur Autonomous Region; and 

(B) coordinate closely with the international community on targeted sanctions and visa restrictions; 

(4) the journalists of the Uyghur language service of Radio 

Free Asia should be commended for their reporting on the 

human rights and political situation in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region despite efforts by the Government of the People’s 

Republic of China to silence or intimidate their reporting 

through the detention of family members and relatives in 

China; 

(5) the United States should expand the availability of 

and capacity for Uyghur language programming on Radio Free 

Asia in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 

(6) the Federal Bureau of Investigation and appropriate 

United States law enforcement agencies should take steps to 

hold accountable officials from the People’s Republic of China 

or individuals acting on their behalf who harass, threaten, 

or intimidate persons within the United States; and 

(7) United States companies and individuals selling goods 

or services or otherwise operating in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region should take steps, including in any public or 

financial filings, to ensure that— 

(A) their commercial activities are not contributing 

to human rights violations in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 

Region or elsewhere in China; and 

(B) their supply chains are not compromised by forced 

labor. 

SEC. 5. UPDATING STATEMENT OF UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD 

THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 

Section 901(b) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 

Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 101–246; 104 Stat. 84) is 

amended— 

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), and (9) as paragraphs (8), (9), and (10), respectively; and 

(2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following: 

‘‘(7) United States policy toward the People’s Republic of 

China should be explicitly linked to the situation in Xinjiang 

Uyghur Autonomous Region, specifically as to whether— 

‘‘(A) the internment of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, 

Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups 

in internment camps has ended; 

‘‘(B) all political prisoners are released; 

‘‘(C) the use of mass surveillance and predictive 

policing to discriminate against and violate the human 

rights of members of specific ethnic groups has ceased 

and is not evident in other parts of China; and 

‘‘(D) the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

has ended particularly severe restrictions of religious and 

cultural practice in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;’’. 

SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS. 

(a) REPORT REQUIRED.— 
S. 3744—5 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than 

annually thereafter, the President shall submit a report to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House 

of Representatives that identifies each foreign person, including 

any official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, 

that the President determines is responsible for any of the 

following with respect to Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, 

members of other Muslim minority groups, or other persons 

in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region: 

(A) Torture. 

(B) Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. 

(C) Prolonged detention without charges and trial. 

(D) Causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons. 

(E) Other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, 

or the security of persons. 

(2) FORM.—The report required under paragraph (1) shall 

be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified 

annex. 

(b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The President shall impose the 

sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each foreign 

person identified in the report required under subsection (a)(1). 

(c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions described in this subsection are the following: 

(1) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President shall exercise all of 

the powers granted to the President under the International 

Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to 

the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions 

in property and interests in property of a foreign person identified in the report required under subsection (a)(1) if such property and interests in property— 

(A) are in the United States; 

(B) come within the United States; or 

(C) come within the possession or control of a United 

States person. 

(2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.— 

(A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—An alien described 

in subsection (a)(1) is— 

(i) inadmissible to the United States; 

(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation to enter the United States; and 

(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled 

into the United States or to receive any other benefit 

under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

1101 et seq.). 

(B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

(i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in subsection 

(a)(1) is subject to revocation of any visa or other 

entry documentation regardless of when the visa or 

other entry documentation is or was issued. 

(ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revocation under clause 

(i) shall— 
S. 3744—6 

(I) take effect immediately; and 

(II) cancel any other valid visa or entry documentation that is in the alien’s possession. 

(3) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in subsections 

(b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a foreign 

person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, 

or causes a violation of paragraph (1) to the same extent 

that such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful 

act described in subsection (a) of such section 206. 

(d) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may exercise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry 

out this section. 

(e) WAIVER.—The President may waive the application of sanctions under this section with respect to a person identified in 

the report required under subsection (a)(1) if the President determines and certifies to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

Senate, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

of Representatives, and the Committee on Financial Services of 

the House of Representatives that such a waiver is in the national 

interest of the United States. 

(f) EXCEPTIONS.— (1) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions 

under this section shall not apply to any activity subject to 

the reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized 

intelligence activities of the United States. 

(2) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS AND FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions under 

subsection (c)(2) shall not apply with respect to an alien if 

admitting or paroling the alien into the United States is necessary— 

(A) to permit the United States to comply with the 

Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United 

Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered 

into force November 21, 1947, between the United Nations 

and the United States, or other applicable international 

obligations; or 

(B) to carry out or assist law enforcement activity 

in the United States. 

(3) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF GOODS.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and requirements 

to impose sanctions authorized under this section shall 

not include the authority or a requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods. 

(B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘good’’ 

means any article, natural or manmade substance, material, supply, or manufactured product, including inspection 

and test equipment, and excluding technical data. 

(g) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The President may terminate 

the application of sanctions under this section with respect to 

a person if the President determines and reports to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Banking, 

Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
S. 3744—7 

on Financial Services of the House of Representatives not later 

than 15 days before the termination takes effect that— 

(1) information exists that the person did not engage in 

the activity for which sanctions were imposed; 

(2) the person has been prosecuted appropriately for the 

activity for which sanctions were imposed; 

(3) the person has credibly demonstrated a significant 

change in behavior, has paid an appropriate consequence for 

the activity for which sanctions were imposed, and has credibly 

committed to not engage in an activity described in subsection 

(a)(1) in the future; or 

(4) the termination of the sanctions is in the national 

security interests of the United States. 

(h) SUNSET.—This section, and any sanctions imposed under 

this section, shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after 

the date of the enactment of this Act. 

(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admission’’, 

‘‘admitted’’, and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms 

in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

1101). 

(2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign person’’ means 

a person that is not a United States person. 

(3) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 

admitted for permanent residence to the United States; 

or 

(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United 

States or any jurisdiction within the United States, 

including a foreign branch of such an entity. 

SEC. 7. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN XINJIANG UYGHUR 

AUTONOMOUS REGION. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies 

and civil society organizations, shall— 

(1) submit a report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang 

Uyghur Autonomous Region to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

of the House of Representatives; and 

(2) make the report described in paragraph (1) available 

on the website of the Department of State. 

(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report required under 

subsection (a) shall include— 

(1) an assessment of the number of individuals detained 

in internment camps in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 

(2) a description of the conditions in such camps for 

detainees, including, to the extent practicable, an assessment 

of— 

(A) methods of torture; 

(B) efforts to force individuals to renounce their faith; 

and 

(C) other serious human rights abuses; 

(3) to the extent practicable, an assessment of the number 

of individuals in the region in forced labor camps; 
S. 3744—8 

(4) a description of the methods used by People’s Republic 

of China authorities to ‘‘reeducate’’ detainees in internment 

camps, including a list of government agencies of the People’s 

Republic of China in charge of such reeducation; 

(5) an assessment of the use and nature of forced labor 

in and related to the detention of Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang 

Uyghur Autonomous Region, including a description of foreign 

companies and industries directly benefitting from such labor; 

(6) an assessment of the level of access to Xinjiang Uyghur 

Autonomous Region granted by the Government of the People’s 

Republic of China to foreign diplomats and consular agents, 

independent journalists, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations; 

(7) an assessment of the mass surveillance, predictive 

policing, and other methods used by the Government of the 

People’s Republic of China to violate the human rights of persons in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 

(8) a description of the frequency with which foreign governments are forcibly returning Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, 

and other refugees and asylum seekers to the People’s Republic 

of China; 

(9) a description, as appropriate, of United States diplomatic efforts with allies and other nations— 

(A) to address the gross violations of human rights 

in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and 

(B) to protect asylum seekers from the region; and 

(10) the identification of the offices within the Department 

of State that are responsible for leading and coordinating the 

diplomatic efforts referred to in paragraph (9). 

SEC. 8. REPORT ON PROTECTING CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS OF THE 

UNITED STATES FROM INTIMIDATION AND COERCION. 

Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 

this Act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 

consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit a report 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee 

on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Select Committee on Intelligence 

of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

of Representatives, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives that outlines all of the 

efforts to protect United States citizens and residents, including 

ethnic Uyghurs and Chinese nationals legally studying or working 

temporarily in the United States, who have experienced harassment 

or intimidation within the United States by officials or agents 

of the Government of the People’s Republic of China. 

SEC. 9. REPORT ON SECURITY AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF 

REPRESSION IN XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION 

BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF 

CHINA. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence, 

in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall submit a report 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Select 

Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Permanent Select 
S. 3744—9 

Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives on the 

matters described in subsection (b). 

(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.— The report required under 

subsection (a) shall include— 

(1) an assessment of the national and regional security 

threats posed to the United States by the policies of the Government of the People’s Republic of China in Xinjiang Uyghur 

Autonomous Region; 

(2) a description of— 

(A) the acquisition or development of technology by 

the Government of the People’s Republic of China to facilitate internment and mass surveillance in Xinjiang Uyghur 

Autonomous Region, including technology related to predictive policing and large-scale data collection and analysis; 

and 

(B) the threats that the acquisition, development, and 

use of such technologies pose to the United States; 

(3) a list of Chinese companies that are involved in— 

(A) constructing or operating the internment camps 

in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; or 

(B) providing or operating mass surveillance technology 

in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and 

(4) a description of the role of the Xinjiang Production 

and Construction Corps in internment and forced labor in 

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. 

(c) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required under subsection 

(a) shall be submitted in an unclassified form, but may contain 

a classified annex. 

SEC. 10. CLASSIFIED REPORT. 

The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with such 

elements of the Intelligence Community as the Director deems 

appropriate, shall submit a classified report to the Select Committee 

on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee 

on Intelligence of the House of Representatives that assesses the 

ability of the United States Government to collect and analyze 

intelligence regarding— 

(1) the scope and scale of the detention and forced labor 

of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other 

Muslim minority groups in the People’s Republic of China; 

(2) the gross violations of human rights perpetrated inside 

the internment camps in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 

and 
S. 3744—10 

(3) other policies of the Government of the People’s Republic 

of China in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region that constitute 

gross violations of human rights. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.