H. Res. 497 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 17, 2007. 

Whereas the protection of the human rights of minority 

groups is consistent with the actions of a responsible 

stakeholder in the international community and with the 

role of a host of a major international event such as the 

Olympic Games; 

Whereas recent actions taken against the Uyghur minority by 

authorities in the People’s Republic of China and, specifically, by local officials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, have included major violations of human 

rights and acts of cultural suppression; 

Whereas the authorities of the People’s Republic of China 

have manipulated the strategic objectives of the international war on terror to increase their cultural and religious oppression of the Muslim population residing in the 

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 

Whereas an official campaign to encourage Han Chinese migration into the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 

has resulted in the Uyghur population becoming a minority in their traditional homeland and has placed immense 

pressure on those who are seeking to preserve the linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions of the Uyghur 

people; 
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•HRES 497 EH 

Whereas the House of Representatives has a particular interest in the fate of Uyghur human rights leader Rebiya 

Kadeer, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and her family as 

Ms. Kadeer was first arrested in August 1999 while she 

was en route to meet with a delegation from the Congressional Research Service and was held in prison on spurious charges until her release and exile to the United 

States in the spring of 2005; 

Whereas upon her release, Ms. Kadeer was warned by her 

Chinese jailors not to advocate for human rights in 

Xinjiang and throughout China while in the United 

States or elsewhere, and was reminded that she had several family members residing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 

Whereas while residing in the United States, Ms. Kadeer 

founded the International Uyghur Human Rights and 

Democracy Foundation and was elected President of the 

Uyghur American Association and President of the World 

Uyghur Congress in Munich, Germany; 

Whereas two of Ms. Kadeer’s sons were detained and beaten 

and one of her daughters was placed under house arrest 

in June 2006; 

Whereas President George W. Bush recognized the importance of Ms. Kadeer’s human rights work in a June 5, 

2007, speech in Prague, Czech Republic, when he stated: 

‘‘Another dissident I will meet here is Rebiyah Kadeer of 

China, whose sons have been jailed in what we believe is 

an act of retaliation for her human rights activities. The 

talent of men and women like Rebiyah is the greatest resource of their nations, far more valuable than the weapons of their army or their oil under the ground.’’; 
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•HRES 497 EH 

Whereas Kahar Abdureyim, Ms. Kadeer’s eldest son, was 

fined $12,500 for tax evasion and another son, Alim 

Abdureyim, was sentenced to seven years in prison and 

fined $62,500 for tax evasion in a blatant attempt by 

local authorities to take control of the Kadeer family’s remaining business assets in the People’s Republic of 

China; 

Whereas another of Ms. Kadeer’s sons, Ablikim Abdureyim, 

was beaten by local police to the point of requiring medical attention in June 2006 and has been subjected to 

continued physical abuse and torture while being held incommunicado in custody since that time; 

Whereas Ablikim Abdureyim was also convicted by a kangaroo court on April 17, 2007, for ‘‘instigating and engaging in secessionist’’ activities and was sentenced to 

nine years of imprisonment, this trial being held in secrecy and Mr. Abdureyim reportedly being denied the 

right to legal representation; 

Whereas two days later, on April 19, 2007, another court in 

Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, sentenced Canadian citizen Huseyin Celil to life in 

prison for ‘‘splittism’’ and also for ‘‘being party to a terrorist organization’’ after having successfully sought his 

extradition from Uzbekistan where he was visiting relatives; 

Whereas Chinese authorities have continued to refuse to recognize Mr. Celil’s Canadian citizenship, although he was 

naturalized in 2005, denied Canadian diplomats access to 

the courtroom when Mr. Celil was sentenced, and have 

refused to grant consular access to Mr. Celil in prison; 
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•HRES 497 EH 

Whereas a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson publicly 

warned Canada ‘‘not to interfere in China’s domestic affairs’’ after Mr. Celil’s sentencing; and 

Whereas Mr. Celil’s case was a major topic of conversation 

in a recent Beijing meeting between the Canadian and 

Chinese Foreign Ministers: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government of the People’s Republic of 

China— 

(1) should recognize, and seek to ensure, the linguistic, cultural, and religious rights of the Uyghur people of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 

(2) should immediately release the children of 

Rebiya Kadeer from both incarceration and house arrest 

and cease harassment and intimidation of the Kadeer 

family members; and 

(3) should immediately release Canadian citizen 

Huseyin Celil and allow him to rejoin his family in Canada. 

Attest: 

Clerk.