Gallagher Committee Makes Uyghur Recommendations

The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party voted in favor of policy proposals designed to combat the ongoing Uyghur genocide and enhance Taiwan's deterrence.

The Wednesday adoption of these policy proposals comes on the heels of a March hearing featuring a survivor and witness to the ongoing Uyghur genocide by the CCP. The committee also held an April wargame highlighting the severe consequences of a deterrence failure in the Indo-Pacific.

Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill) issued a joint statement following the bipartisan adoption of these policy recommendations.

"The competition with the CCP requires us working together across the aisle," they said. "We are proud that today we voted overwhelmingly to adopt the Select Committee’s first policy recommendations regarding the Uyghur genocide and Taiwan. This is only a first step... We are committed to deterrence in the Taiwan Strait and that we won’t turn a blind eye as the CCP commits genocide, 'the crime above all crimes,' against the Uyghur people.”

The Committee's proposed policies to end the Uyghur genocide include sanctions on CCP officials responsible for the atrocities, ensuring that American companies are not complicit in these acts, and closing the de minimis loophole to curb profits derived from Uyghur forced labor.

Chairman Gallagher described the atrocities against the Uyghur people as meeting "any reasonable definition of genocide, the 'crime above all crimes.'"

In addition to the proposals addressing the Uyghur genocide, the Committee also put forth recommendations to strengthen deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, in light of simulated wargames indicating potential disaster if deterrence measures fail.

"80,000 PLA troops on Taiwan. U.S. warplanes vaporized. Global trade frozen," Chairman Gallagher cited from the wargame outcomes. "To ensure this scenario remains fictional, today Select Committee members voted to overwhelmingly adopt 10 policy recommendations... which will surge hard power across the international dateline and strengthen deterrence in the Taiwan Strait.”

Uyghur Findings & Recommendations

The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has identified six key findings and associated recommendations concerning the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people.

1. CCP officials involved in the genocide have yet to be held sufficiently accountable. The Committee recommends ensuring such officials face consequences for their actions, including sanctioning responsible CCP officials, isolating sanctioned entities further, and creating a public archive documenting the Uyghur genocide.
2.  Other countries have lagged in fulfilling their treaty commitments to prevent or halt genocide and to protect victims. The Committee recommends strengthening U.S. diplomatic efforts to coordinate policy and action against the CCP, including the creation of a Special Coordinator for Uyghur issues within the State Department.
3. Products made with Uyghur forced labor continue to enter global supply chains. The Committee recommends strengthening enforcement of U.S. prohibitions on the importation of goods made with Uyghur forced labor, providing additional resources to the Department of Homeland Security, and reducing the de minimis threshold for duty-free shipments into the United States.
4.  U.S. and international investment in the PRC contributed to the development and deployment of advanced technology that enables the surveillance and control apparatus in the XUAR. The Committee recommends restricting U.S. capital flows to problematic PRC companies and critical technology sectors in the PRC that have enabled the CCP’s atrocities.
5. Existing statutes to hold the perpetrators accountable and deter further atrocities have not been fully implemented. The Committee recommends the application of sanctions as required by the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
6.  Uyghurs who escape CCP repression continue to face harassment and intimidation in the U.S. and internationally. The Committee recommends working with allies and partners to protect Uyghurs in third countries and provide refugee status and asylum for eligible Uyghurs.