Imagine waking up and calling your mother on the phone to say good morning. The phone keeps ringing, but no one answers. After repeated calls, emotions begin to heighten, anxiety sets in, and then panic. That’s how I felt on September 10, 2018, when my mother disappeared. Over seven years later, those feelings still course through my body like it was yesterday.
My mother, <a href="https://www.scott.senate.gov/media-center/press-releases/scott-rubio-durbin-and-colleagues-reaffirm-call-for-the-immediate-release-of-dr-gulshan-abbas/">Dr. Gulshan Abbas</a>, is a 63-year-old Uyghur retired physician, a woman of deep kindness who devoted her life to healing others. Since 2018, she has been unjustly imprisoned in Xinjiang by the Chinese government, cut off from her family. She is a mother of two <a href="https://www.cecc.gov/media-center/press-releases/chairs-ask-president-bring-home-americans-unjustly-detained-china">American</a> daughters and grandmother to four beautiful granddaughters.
Her disappearance came less than a week after her sister <a href="https://campaignforuyghurs.org/leadership/">Rushan Abbas</a>, a U.S. citizen and prominent Uyghur human rights activist, <a href="https://www.hudson.org/events/1591-china-s-war-on-terrorism-and-the-xinjiang-emergency92018">spoke publicly</a> about Beijing’s persecution and mass detention of Uyghurs. Soon after, the Chinese authorities sentenced her to 20 years in prison for fabricated crimes. This retaliation for my aunt’s advocacy in the United States is a stark example of Beijing’s growing campaign of transnational repression — punishing individuals in China for the actions of their relatives abroad.
While families across America gather to celebrate Mother’s Day, my world will remain quiet. There will be no morning phone call to hear my mother’s voice, no chance to tell her how much I love her, and no opportunity for my daughter and nieces to sit in their grandmother’s lap. She has missed first steps, first words, first days of school — years of a family growing up without her.
This is my eighth Mother’s Day marked by a physical ache to see my mother’s face and hear her voice.
Living in this reality is hard. Every statement from Beijing or Washington, D.C. leaves me wondering if this will finally be the moment of her release. That day has not yet come. In the meantime, I am left to answer an impossible question from my seven-year-old daughter and three nieces, who have never met their grandmother: “Why isn’t she here?”
I don’t have a good answer. I tell them that she is good and kind, brave, that she loves them, and wants nothing more than to be here with them.
There are moments when the world seems to notice, when hope feels closer. And then those moments pass. But for families like mine, the reality never changes. We are still waiting. Still hoping she is not forgotten.
As President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Beijing, I’ll be glued to the news. President Trump should boldly raise my mother’s case and secure her unconditional release and safe return home. I also call on Beijing to act first. As a priority political prisoner, releasing her would be a gesture of good faith that costs nothing and restores a family.
Her release would not only reunite our family — it would send a powerful message that American families should not bear the cost of Beijing’s transnational repression.
My mother is enduring hardships we cannot fully see or understand. We worry about the mental strain of this ordeal and the toll on her body, which suffers from several chronic health conditions. The fragments of information we receive are never enough to ease our pain or change the reality that she is still not home. Instead, they have only deepened my resolve, because staying silent would mean accepting she doesn’t matter. She does.
Whatever steadiness and strength that keep me going come from my mother herself — from her quiet courage, her compassion, and the love with which she raised me. I hold on to the hope that one day, we will be reunited. Until then, I will keep speaking and advocating, because she taught me that love is not passive; it shows up again and again, across the years and oceans.
If your mom answers the phone this Mother’s Day, please don’t take that for granted. I would give anything to hear that line pick up, and her voice on the other end.
***
Ziba Murat is a Uyghur American advocate whose mother, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, has been imprisoned in Xinjiang since 2018.

TOPSHOT-SKOREA-US-CHINA-DIPLOMACY

One Daughter’s Mother’s Day Nightmare From Xi Jinping

Communist China

DW Opinion

Mothers Day

Political prisoner

Uyghur

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it was targeting more imports of Chinese goods, including steel, copper and lithium, for high-priority enforcement over alleged human-rights abuses involving the Uyghurs.
The Department of Homeland Security, in a post on X, said it was also designating caustic soda and red dates for high-priority enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
&#8220;The use of slave labor is repulsive and we will hold Chinese companies accountable for abuses and eliminate threats its forced labor practices pose to our prosperity,&#8221; U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said separately on X.
The Uyghur-related law restricts the import of goods tied to what the U.S. describes as China&#8217;s human-rights abuses and ongoing genocide in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
U.S. authorities say Chinese authorities have established internment camps for Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in China’s western Xinjiang region. Beijing has denied any abuses.
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The Chinese Communist Party has faced considerable backlash for nearly a decade over their efforts to detain the ethnic and religious minority Uyghurs.
&#8220;Treatment in the centers reportedly included food deprivation, psychological pressure, sexual abuse, medical neglect, torture, and forced labor,&#8221; notes <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10281">Congress.gov</a>. &#8220;Leaked Xinjiang police files, which included thousands of detainee records and images, important party directives, and police protocols, revealed the prison-like nature of the reeducation centers.&#8221;
Some detainees are forced to work in various industries, some of which are part of the global market.
In 2020, Disney was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/08/media/mulan-controversy-xinjiang-credits-intl-hnk">heavily criticized</a> for filming part of the live-action &#8220;Mulan&#8221; movie in Xinjiang province, near where detainment facilities are reportedly located. The company even thanked the &#8220;publicity department of CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Committee&#8221; and the &#8220;publicity department of CPC Turpan Municipal Committee&#8221; in the credits of the film.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

0B166219-362D-4233-AD7A-B30075843200_1_201_a

U.S. Targets Steel, Copper, Lithium Imports Under Uyghur Forced Labor Law

Executive

Global Politics

Steel industry

Trump Administration

World

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/10.30.24-Rubio-Letter-to-FDA-DHS-re-Ban-on-Pharmaceuticals-from-Xinjiang.pdf">letter</a> to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding they guarantee that goods imported to the United States are not made with slave labor.
In 2021, Rubio introduced the <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/rubio-merkley-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-becomes-law/">Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act </a>(UFLPA), which was signed into law. The Act would “ensure that goods made with the slave labor of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and elsewhere in the People’s Republic of China do not enter the United States,” Rubio’s <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/rubio-merkley-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-becomes-law/">website</a> noted.
In the letter, Rubio noted “recent reports identifying two pharmaceutical producers based in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that are permitted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to distribute their products in the U.S.,” adding, “This is in clear violation of current law which prohibits imports from the region due to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) egregious human rights abuses, including genocide, forced abortions, and forced sterilizations.”
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
“Recent analysis by the Centers for Advanced Defense Studies exposed that the FDA currently allows at least two pharmaceutical producers, Xinjiang Nuziline Bio-Pharmaceutical Co. and SEL Biochem Xinjiang Co. to import APIs and drug products into the U.S.,” Rubio continued. “Both of these companies are linked to slave labor in Xinjiang and are not listed on the UFLPA Entity List.”
“The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act assures the American people that the products they purchase were made without slave labor,” Rubio wrote. “It is clear that the lack of oversight by the FDA has not made this true. The FDA and DHS have a responsibility to rectify this dangerous error and uphold the law. Therefore, I demand both departments and the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to immediately place Xinjiang Nuziline Bio-Pharmaceutical Co. and SEL Biochem Xinjiang Co. on the UFLPA Entity List. I also ask that the FDA and DHS complete a thorough review of every company authorized to distribute pharmaceuticals and API in the United States to ensure compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.”

US-VOTE-POLITICS-TRUMP

Rubio Demands U.S. Government Stop Importation Of Slave-Made Drugs

Congress

Marco Rubio

Politics

Prescription Drugs

Slavery

A <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/wisconsin-democrats-return-money-from-tech-billionaire-under-fire-for-uyghur-comments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">left-wing</a> mega-donor who has donated <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=Chamath+Palihapitiya&amp;order=asc&amp;page=2&amp;sort=A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">millions</a> of dollars to Democrats is hosting a fundraiser for pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy&#8217;s Republican presidential campaign.
Chamath Palihapitiya is hosting an &#8220;intimate dinner&#8221; and fundraiser for Ramaswamy&#8217;s Super PAC at his home in San Francisco where tickets are being sold for $50,000 with the hopes of generating $1 million for the candidate, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/teddyschleifer/status/1704955641759256867" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Puck News</a>. Ramaswamy will be in attendance.
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrat-mega-donor-nobody-cares-uyghur-genocide-slated-host-ramaswamy-fundraiser" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that Palihapitiya — a former Facebook executive who now is a part owner of the NBA&#8217;s Golden State Warriors — generated significant backlash last year when he said that &#8220;nobody cares&#8221; about communist China&#8217;s genocide of religious minorities in the country.
&#8220;Every time I say that I care about the Uyghurs, I’m really just lying if I don’t really care,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Let’s be honest, nobody, nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, okay? You bring it up because you really care. And I think that’s really nice that you care, but the rest of us don’t care.&#8221;
He later added, &#8220;Of all the things that I care about, yes, it is below my line. Okay, of all the things that I care about, it is below my line.&#8221;
Ramaswamy&#8217;s campaign told Fox News that the presidential candidate disagreed with Palihapitiya&#8217;s comments on the genocide, but that Ramaswamy would still attend the fundraiser.
In addition to Ramaswamy campaign Communications Director Tricia McLaughlin saying that the candidate believes the genocide is &#8220;an atrocity,&#8221; Ramaswamy himself recently characterized what China is doing to the Uyghurs as &#8220;one of the worst human rights atrocities committed by a major nation since the Third Reich of Germany.&#8221;
The communist regime&#8217;s rounding up of ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang is the largest mass detention of ethnic and religious minorities since the Holocaust.
China surveils everyone in their country, but they keep an especially close eye on the Uyghurs, whom they have <a href="https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/china/chinese-persecution-of-the-uyghurs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subjected</a> to mass-enforced sterilization, forced labor, and forced assimilation.
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Human Rights Watch has <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/19/break-their-lineage-break-their-roots/chinas-crimes-against-humanity-targeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documented</a> the atrocities being carried out in China&#8217;s concentration camps, which include &#8220;imprisonment or other deprivation of liberty in violation of international law; persecution of an identifiable ethnic or religious group; enforced disappearance; torture; murder; and alleged inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to mental or physical health, notably forced labor and sexual violence.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/extremely-sadistic-communist-china-gang-rapes-religious-minorities-in-concentration-camps-former-detainees-allege" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Extremely Sadistic’: Guards Gang Rape Religious Minorities In China’s Concentration Camps, Former Detainees Allege</a>

Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Visits “Varney & Co”

Democrat Mega-Donor Who Said ‘Nobody Cares’ About Genocide In China Hosts Fundraiser For Ramaswamy; Campaign Responds

Democrat Megadonor Who Said ‘Nobody Cares’ About Genocide In China Hosts Fundraiser For Ramaswamy; Campaign Responds

2024 Election

Democratic Party

Elections

Vivek Ramaswamy

Republican Miami Mayor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/francis-suarez" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Francis Suarez</a> admitted during an interview with Hugh Hewitt this week that he was completely unaware of one of the largest human rights issues in the world.
Suarez, a long-shot Republican presidential candidate, was asked by Hewitt about the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uyghur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uyghurs</a>, a minority group in China who are locked up in concentration camps and forced into re-education facilities.
After talking briefly about China, Hewitt asked Suarez, &#8220;Will you be talking about the Uyghurs in your campaign?&#8221;
&#8220;The what?&#8221; Suarez responded.
&#8220;The Uyghurs,&#8221; Hewitt said.
&#8220;What’s a Uyghur?&#8221; Suarez asked.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hugh Hewitt: “Will you be talking about the Uyghurs in your campaign?”
2024 GOP presidential candidate Francis Suarez: “What&#39;s a Uyghur?” <a href="https://t.co/AlRkjZCJyK">pic.twitter.com/AlRkjZCJyK</a>
&mdash; The Recount (@therecount) <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1673686747497267201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Several minutes later, at the end of the interview, Suarez said, &#8220;And you gave me homework, Hugh.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ll look at what a, what was it, what did you call it, a Weeble?&#8221; Suarez said laughingly.
&#8220;The Uyghurs. You really need to know about the Uyghurs, Mayor,&#8221; Hewitt, who was not laughing, responded. &#8220;You’ve got to talk about it every day, okay?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“I&#39;ll look at — what’d you call it, a ‘Weeble?’”
— 2024 GOP presidential candidate Francis Suarez on Uyghurs <a href="https://t.co/wAW8lGg0IK">pic.twitter.com/wAW8lGg0IK</a>
&mdash; The Recount (@therecount) <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1673687808282697728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Reports have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/extremely-sadistic-communist-china-gang-rapes-religious-minorities-in-concentration-camps-former-detainees-allege">surfaced</a> in recent years of violent gang rape against the Uyghurs and other religious minorities detained in the Chinese concentration camps in Xinjiang.
Qelbinur Sidik, who was forced to teach inside the camps, made allegations in an interview published by CNN in 2021. Sidik’s story begins by noting that a policewoman told her very early on that she had been assigned to investigate reports of rapes and torture taking place at the facility. Sidik said that the policewoman described to her how the male guards at the camp often bragged while drinking about how they “raped and tortured girls.”
Sidik said that her first encounter with new detainees was approximately 100 men and women who were chained in shackles around their hands and feet. She said that even those that came in physically and mentally strong eventually were broken by the brutal system that the communist Chinese had installed in the camps, where an estimated nearly 2 million religious minorities are being detained. She said that she witnessed “horrific traged[ies]” while working at the camp where women were regularly “crying loudly.”
Another witness, Tursunay Ziyawudun, told CNN that she committed no crime when she was sent to the camps. After a month in the camp, authorities released Ziyawudun, only to arrest her a short time later for a nine-month “nightmare.” Ziyawudun, who is now in the U.S., told CNN that large numbers women were often crammed into small spaces, allowed minimal time to basic facilities like toilets, and were brutally punished for small things like using the facilities for too long.
During an interrogation session, Ziyawudun said that she was beaten so intensely that she passed out. Another time, guards forced her on to a table where they “inserted a stun baton” inside her and “twisted and shocked” her until she “blacked out” from the pain. A couple of weeks later she was ganged raped by several men, an experience she said happened to her multiple times while in the camps.
“They were extremely sadistic, causing pain and damage to the body by beating and smacking my head on the wall,” Ziyawudun said, “It was their way of punishing us.”

Conservative Leaders Address Faith & Freedom Coalition Majority Conference

Francis Suarez Has No Idea Who The Uyghurs Are: “What’d You Call It, A ‘Weeble’?”

Francis Suarez Has No Idea Who The Uyghurs Are: "What'd You Call It, A 'Weeble'?"

Francis Suarez

Hugh Hewitt

A top <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> executive attacked the House Energy and Commerce committee hearing on TikTok, accusing members of &#8220;xenophobia.&#8221;
TikTok COO Vanessa Pappas said that the hearing &#8220;felt rooted in xenophobia.&#8221; TikTok itself also blasted the hearing in a statement of its own. The company&#8217;s response came after a tense hearing between CEO Shou Zi Chew, in which members from both parties blasted the Chinese-owned social media app for targeting children and violating the data privacy of Americans.
&#8220;We&#8217;re committed to providing a safe, secure platform, that fosters an inclusive place for our amazing, diverse communities to call home,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/v_ness/status/1639000020077924352?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pappas</a> wrote on Twitter. &#8220;It’s a shame today’s conversation felt rooted in xenophobia. Thank you to our employees who work tirelessly to protect our platform &amp; community.&#8221;
TikTok itself also knocked the committee hearing, claiming that members were engaged in political grandstanding instead of acknowledging the steps the app has taken to improve safety. &#8220;Our CEO, @ShouChew, came prepared to answer questions from Congress, but unfortunately, the day was dominated by political grandstanding that failed to acknowledge real solutions already underway through Project Texas or address industry-wide issues of youth safety,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/TikTokComms/status/1638993513936478209" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok Comms</a> wrote.
&#8220;Also not mentioned today by members of the @HouseCommerce Committee: the livelihoods of the 5 million businesses on TikTok or the First Amendment implications of banning a platform loved by 150 million Americans,&#8221; the <a href="https://twitter.com/TikTokComms/status/1638993515874078744?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">company</a> added.
Pappas&#8217; comments seemed to stem from an <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/politics/its-a-pretty-easy-question-tiktok-ceo-declines-three-chances-to-acknowledge-chinese-persecution-of-uyghurs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exchange</a> between Chew and Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), in which Lesko asked him to denounce the persecution of Uyghur Muslims by the Chinese Communist Party. Chew repeatedly evaded the question, preferring to talk about the content on the app, but Lesko asked him the question several times.
“Do you agree that the Chinese government has persecuted the Uyghur population?” Lesko asked.
&#8220;If you use our app, and you open it, you will see our users who give all sorts of content,&#8221; Chew said.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-441512">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
<div class="ad-container desktop ad-h-50 ad-w-300">
<div id="desktop_desk-art-pol-lb2" class="ad gam" data-iu="lb2" data-ad-size="728x90,300x250,320x50,300x50,1x1,fluid" data-ad-lz="1" data-hot-unit="">&#8220;That’s not what I said,&#8221; Lesko cut in. &#8220;My question is, do you agree that the Chinese government has persecuted the Uyghur population?&#8221;</div>
</div>
“Well, it’s deeply concerning to hear about all accounts of human rights abuse; my role here is to explain what our platform does” said Chew, before being cut off again.
“I think you’re being pretty evasive,&#8221; Lesko interjected. &#8220;It’s a pretty easy question.” She then asked her question a third time.
“Congresswoman, I’m here to describe TikTok and what we do as a platform,&#8221; Chew replied. &#8220;And as a platform, we allow our users to freely express themselves on this issue and any other issue that matters to them.&#8221;
But commenters replying to Pappas&#8217; post pointed out that Chew dodging the question was actually an indicator that TikTok may be compromised by the CCP.
&#8220;One of TikTok&#8217;s core claims is that it is independent of its Chinese parent, ByteDance,&#8221; cybersecurity expert <a href="https://twitter.com/gillespiejames_/status/1639029795559440384?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Gillespie</a> wrote in reply to Pappas. &#8220;So it seems reasonable for Congress to ask the CEO if he condemns the Uyghur genocide, because if he won&#8217;t that surely says something about how free he feels to displease Beijing.&#8221;
&#8220;You can see here how well the Chinese communist state apparatus has mastered the idiocies of the West &amp; its media classes &#8211; pronouns, safetyism, ‘diverse communities,’ claiming &#8216;xenophobia&#8217; &#8230; a masterclass in understanding &amp; exploiting the West&#8217;s neuroses,&#8221; journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/GrayConnolly/status/1639019455538921472?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gray Connolly</a> added.
&#8220;COO of TikTok says that todays hearing — where CEO of TikTok on several occasions refused to condemn concentration camps filled with a religious minority — &#8216;felt rooted in xenophobia,’” journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1639014091489411072?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zaid Jilani</a> tweeted.
&#8220;Calling real concerns about data security and content filtering xenophobic is certainly an interesting approach to take,&#8221; CNBC writer <a href="https://twitter.com/Kantrowitz/status/1639006996648132609?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Kantrowitz</a> added.

TikTok

Top TikTok Exec Says Congressional Hearing ‘Felt Rooted In Xenophobia’

Top TikTok Exec Says Congressional Hearing 'Felt Rooted In Xenophobia' Over Tense Exchange Between CEO, Republican Member About Uyghurs

Big Tech

Chinese Communist Party

Twitter

U.S.

U.S. House of Representatives

American doctors go to great lengths to maintain the highest ethical standards as they work to save thousands of desperately ill patients waiting for an organ match, as underscored in recent reporting of innovative transplant experiments using genetically modified pig hearts. China’s transplant sector, unconstrained by rigorous ethical rules, found a more expedient solution. China created a thriving transplant industry, the world’s <a href="https://english.www.gov.cn/news/top_news/2018/07/05/content_281476209784504.htm">second largest</a>, based on a supply of organs forcibly harvested from executed prisoners – most likely prisoners of conscience.
Though China announced that it banned this hideous practice in 2015, transparency is lacking and mounting evidence indicates that it continues. Nevertheless, the American transplant sector, while adhering to medical ethics at home, openly supports China’s transplant doctors and industry.
In 2006, shocking reports first surfaced of China forcibly harvesting organs from detained Falun Gong adherents. According to these reports, after Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual meditation group, was targeted for “elimination” by China’s president in 1999, thousands of practitioners were thrown into labor camps and jails and subjected to organ screening, unexplained deaths, and disappearances. Many, the group says, were killed for their organs, which were sold to China’s transplant sector, just as it surged and became a billion-dollar industry. Credible <a href="https://bitterwinter.org/organ-harvesting-in-china-is-real-smoking-guns/">testimony</a> from former detainees, relatives, patients, and surgeons supports this. It was during this period that scores of Chinese transplant surgeons published articles, openly describing procedures on prisoners who “were alive and breathing as the <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/science/articles/china-killer-doctors">surgeons</a> cut their hearts out,” as documented in a 2022 article in the respected <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ajt.16969">American Journal of Transplantation</a>, written by Victims of Communism Foundation fellow Matthew Robertson and Israeli Dr. Jacob Lavee.
Last year 12 independent <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/06/china-un-human-rights-experts-alarmed-organ-harvesting-allegations?LangID=E&amp;NewsID=27167">UN experts</a> stated they were “extremely alarmed” by “credible information” that forced organ harvesting was continuing and, moreover, targeting China’s various religious minorities. Several sources report evidence that the atrocity has spread to Xinjiang’s massive network of closed detention camps, which, significantly, were built after 2015, and which both Republican and Democratic administrations recognized as the site of ongoing genocide against China’s Uyghur Muslims.
Nury Turkel, who chairs the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, documented forced blood sampling and organ screening of Uyghur detainees, including a Christian, Ovalbek Turdakun, whom one of us interviewed. As noted in a May 2022 European Parliament resolution, a Beijing hospital brazenly advertised its use of “‘halal organs’ from Uyghurs and Muslim minorities.” At the International Religious Freedom <a href="https://irfsummit.org/">Summit</a>, held in Washington, D.C. in June, <a href="https://www.hudson.org/research/17967-forced-organ-harvesting-american-organ-transplant-collaboration-with-china-despite-damning-evidence">Ethan Gutmann</a>, the leading field researcher on China’s forced organ harvesting, estimated that 25,000 to 50,000 Uyghurs have been killed annually for their organs. Gutmann’s research implicates a former SARS hospital in Aksu, Xinjiang, which is served by an airport with a designated “fast lane” for expressing organs to hospitals throughout China.
No satisfactory explanation exists for how – despite only a million registered volunteer donors in China, compared with America’s 145 million in 2019 – China’s patients can schedule appointments for transplant surgeries within days or weeks, as patients and investigators reported, instead of waiting months or years, as in the U.S. In addition, Robertson, Lavee, and Australian statistician Raymond Hinde have <a href="https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-019-0406-6">determined</a> that the growth curves of China’s voluntary donation lists for three organ types formed implausible, nearly perfect quadratic equations. In a peer-reviewed <a href="https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-019-0406-6">medical ethics journal</a> article in 2019, they conclude that China’s donor database was “falsified” as a result of being “manufactured and manipulated from the central levels of the Chinese medical bureaucracy.” Also, China’s reported number of annual transplants, <a href="https://english.www.gov.cn/news/top_news/2018/07/05/content_281476209784504.htm">5,000-6,000</a>, appears understated. Documenting Chinese transplant hospitals, beds and surgeons, Gutmann and Canadian human rights experts David Mattas and David Kilgour <a href="https://endtransplantabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf">estimated</a> that 60,000 to 100,000 organ transplants are occurring annually in China, with 8,000 a year at just one hospital.
Though shocking, China’s lack of medical ethics is not entirely surprising considering that it perpetrates ethno-religious genocide. But, given the grave questions about organ sourcing raised in these reports and China’s lack of transparency, it is unconscionable that major American universities and hospitals support China’s transplant sector. As brandished on their websites, Harvard, Stanford, the University of Pittsburgh, and many other others provide China with fellowships, academic exchanges, conferences, and joint research projects. American institutions are <a href="https://www.upholdjustice.org/node/547">documented</a> to have trained 344 of China’s transplant doctors.
Some in the American medical community apparently collaborate in the hope of persuading their Chinese partners to ensure organ donation is indeed voluntary. But when blocked from verifying claims of reform, these same U.S. institutions accept China’s word at face value and even <a href="https://chinamedicalboard.org/news/china_transplant_conference_focuses_%E2%80%9Cchina_model%E2%80%9D">praise</a> its progress. They are not alone in buying China’s lies. The medical ethics journal cited above observed: “The World Health Organization, the Transplantation Society, the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group, and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences have all provided endorsements of the reforms based on what appears to be contaminated data.”
The WHO’s organ transplant task force, for example, was <a href="http://en.nhc.gov.cn/2017-02/14/c_71188.htm">proposed</a> in 2017 by Dr. Huang Jiefu, who<a href="https://english.www.gov.cn/news/top_news/2018/07/05/content_281476209784504.htm"> directed</a> China’s transplant donor registry, long served on the <a href="https://www.chinavitae.com/biography/Huang_Jiefu">Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee</a> and, though far from independent, was appointed to the task force itself. Under the chairmanship of Harvard’s Dr. Francis Delmonico, who toured China’s hospitals as Huang’s guest and praised Huang as a “<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-114hhrg20533/pdf/CHRG-114hhrg20533.pdf">courageous leader</a>” in congressional testimony, the task force was mandated to flag crises in the transplant field. Yet, Gutmann, Robertson, and Mattas each say that it <a href="https://jamestown.org/program/examining-chinas-organ-transplantation-system-the-nexus-of-security-medicine-and-predation-part-3-chinas-united-front-tactics-in-managing-the-narrative-on-organ-trafficking/">dismissed</a> out of hand their devastating research.
To date, no U.S. administration has taken seriously the charges of China’s ongoing organ harvesting. In 2018, the State Department tried to close the book on the issue, <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/china-includes-tibet-hong-kong-and-macau-china/">declaring</a> point blank that China’s government “officially ended the long-standing practice of involuntarily harvesting the organs of executed prisoners for use in transplants in January 2015.” It, too, failed to undertake independent verification. The Biden administration should reexamine all forced organ harvesting evidence and make its own determination. Congress should pass the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1592/related-bills">Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act </a>to ensure this happens.
Former Chinese military surgeon Dr. Enver Tohti, testifying before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, recently <a href="https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/events/hearings/forced-organ-harvesting-china-examining-evidence">commented</a> on Western indifference to this issue. Forced organ harvesting seemed just “too bad to be true,” he said. But the evidence is too compelling to persist in that naïve belief. Until compliance with international ethical norms is verified, the American transplant sector should halt all collaboration with China’s.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
Nina Shea is a senior fellow of the Hudson Institute where she directs its Center for Religious Freedom. She is a former vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, to which she was appointed by House Republicans.
Katrina Lantos Swett is president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights &amp; Justice. She is a human rights professor at Tufts University and the former chair of the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom, to which she was appointed by Senate Democrats.

China’s Forced Organ Harvesting Demands U.S. Response

Doctors

Health

Medical

United States

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china">China</a> accused the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/white-house">White House</a> of lying when it claimed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a> pressed Chinese <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xi-jinping">President Xi Jinping</a> on the country’s systematic abuse of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uyghur">Uyghur Muslims</a> when the leaders spoke by phone Thursday morning.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/karine-jean-pierre">White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre</a> said after the marathon call that Biden had “raised genocide and forced labor practices” imposed on the minority group by the Chinese Communist Party. There are an estimated 12 million Uyghurs in the northwestern Xinjiang province, where they are tortured, sterilized, imprisoned and treated as slaves, according to international human rights advocates.
“That is something that he raised about human rights, as he always does,” Jean-Pierre claimed. “This is, as we’ve said, that anytime the president has an opportunity, he raises that when he meets with another leader, and called on the [People’s Republic of China] to cease its ongoing human rights abuses across China.”
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Honestly, I’ve never heard <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeBiden</a> himself publicly speaking out against China’s ongoing genocide of Uyghurs/Turkic peoples in East Turkistan; it’s always been other officials. Biden needs to uphold his campaign promise &amp; act against the genocide.<a href="https://t.co/6lZaj2755i">https://t.co/6lZaj2755i</a>
&mdash; Salih Hudayar (سالىھ خۇدايار) (@SalihHudayar) <a href="https://twitter.com/SalihHudayar/status/1553091147383308294?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
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But on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijan called Pierre’s claim Biden got tough with Xi “disinformation.”
“I can tell you that allegations of ‘genocide’ and ‘forced labor’ in Xinjiang are pure lies,” Zhao said. “You said the White House press secretary claimed that ‘genocide’ and ‘forced labor’ came up in last night’s call. That is disinformation.”
Both countries issued readouts of the call, and neither one mentioned the Uyghurs. The U.S. said Biden and Xi “discussed a range of issues important to the bilateral relationship and other regional and global issues.”
The call, which reportedly lasted about two hours, was the fifth conversation between the two leaders since early 2021. They reportedly discussed a variety of topics, including the tension surrounding Taiwan, economic competition, and the war in Ukraine.
Zhao has been highly critical of the U.S this week, especially in light of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan. The self-governing island is supported by the U.S., but China considers it part of its territory. Beijing has warned it would view Pelosi’s trip as a provocation.
“If the U.S. insists on going its own way and challenging China’s bottom line, it will surely be met with forceful responses,” Zhao told reporters earlier this week. “All ensuing consequences shall be borne by the U.S.”

US-CHINA-DIPLOMACY

China Calls White House Claim Biden Confronted Xi Over Uyghurs A Lie

Biden Administration

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Karine Jean-Pierre

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The Miami Heat NBA franchise is being criticized for encouraging fans to contact their state senators &#8220;demanding&#8221; support for &#8220;common-sense gun laws&#8221; prior to the team&#8217;s playoff game against the Boston Celtics Wednesday night.
Following a moment of silence in honor of the 21 victims killed in the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the team&#8217;s public address announcer urged attendees at FTX Stadium to leave a message with their elected officials and asked them to register to vote.
A clip of the request can be seen here:
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A moment of silence. <a href="https://t.co/8Ycn1uqN0i">pic.twitter.com/8Ycn1uqN0i</a>
&mdash; Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1529627285103443973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In reaction to the announcement, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio blasted the NBA, accusing the league of blatant hypocrisy related to its business dealings with the Chinese Communist regime.
&#8220;The <a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1cvl2hr r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" role="link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA">@NBA </a>doesn’t like to talk about the billions they make from a China that enslaves Uyghur Muslims and harvests their organs,&#8221; Rubio tweeted. &#8220;But they have no problem politicizing a horrific tragedy in America.&#8221;
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The <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a> doesn’t like to talk about the billions they make from a China that enslaves Uyghur Muslims and harvests their organs
But they have no problem politicizing a horrific tragedy in America <a href="https://t.co/VUXpOBbw7j">pic.twitter.com/VUXpOBbw7j</a>
&mdash; Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1529662469710483457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The Daily Wire recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nba-owners-have-10-billion-invested-in-china-report-finds">reported</a> that owners of NBA teams have a collective $10 billion invested in China.
The NBA has been frequently criticized for doing business with China while refusing to speak against a myriad of issues plaguing the communist nation — including repression of ethnic minorities like the Uyghurs.
A <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33938932/nba-owners-mum-china-relationship-more-10-billion-invested-there">new analysis from ESPN</a> found that the league’s 40 principal owners “collectively have more than $10 billion tied up in China.&#8221;
The Daily Wire also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nba-owners-have-10-billion-invested-in-china-report-finds">noted</a> that former Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter Freedom — who grew up under heavy political repression in Turkey — has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/enes-kanter-slams-professional-sports-leagues-for-not-speaking-out-on-china-theyre-scared">blasted the NBA</a> for refusing to speak out about Chinese atrocities because they are “scared.”
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“You know, you see, there’s so many athletes, so many actors, you know, so many singers and rappers out there,” Kanter said in 2021. “They’re scared. They’re scared to say a word because they care too much about their money. They care too much about their endorsement deals. They care too much about what the teams that they play for are going to say. But, you know, they should know one thing: It should be morals and principles over money. It shouldn’t be the opposite way.”
On Tuesday, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr also commented on the tragedy of gun violence.
&#8220;When are we going to do something? I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there,&#8221; Kerr said at a press conference.
The Celtics defeated the Heat 93-80 to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics

Miami Heat Urges Fans To Call Senators ‘Demanding Their Support For Common-Sense Gun Laws’ Before Playoff Game

 Miami Heat Urges Fans To Call Senators Demanding 'Common-Sense Gun Laws' Before NBA Playoff Game Against Boston Celtics

Florida

Gun Control

Gun Rights

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Uvalde

A collection of hacked files has revealed the concerning plight of Uyghur Muslims being persecuted in the Xinjiang province of China.
The BBC revealed more than 2,800 pictures from the newly shared information to document the human rights abuses of the Uyghur people.
“Today, further shocking details of China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang have emerged, which add to the already extensive body of evidence from Chinese government documents, first-hand testimony, satellite imagery and visits by our own diplomats to the region,&#8221; United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/20160964.hacked-files-show-chinas-human-rights-violations-xinjiang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
“New evidence shows the extraordinary scale of China’s targeting of Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities, including forced labour, severe restrictions on freedom of religion, the separation of parents from their children, forced birth control, and mass incarceration,&#8221; she added. “The UK stands with our international partners in calling out China’s appalling persecution of Uighur Muslims and other minorities. We remain committed to holding China to account.&#8221;
Nury Turkel, co-founder and chair of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, also condemned China&#8217;s actions.
“What we’re dealing with is an industrial-scale concentration camp system, a modern-day, tech-supported genocide,&#8221; Turkel <a href="https://twitter.com/UyghurCongress/status/1528715870314315777" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. &#8220;What more do they want to see in order to act? I don’t understand. Never again is happening again, right now.”
The BBC report blasted the inhumane treatment of the Uyghur people.
&#8220;The documents provide some of the strongest evidence to date for a policy targeting almost any expression of Uyghur identity, culture or Islamic faith &#8211; and of a chain of command running all the way up to the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/85qihtvw6e/the-faces-from-chinas-uyghur-detention-camps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> stated.
New Mexico Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell shared the BBC account on Twitter, with strong words opposing China&#8217;s actions.
&#8220;A tragic reminder of why the USA has not only a strategic interest in divesting from China, but a moral one,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;Communist gulags are alive and well in 2022.&#8221;
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A tragic reminder of why the USA has not only a strategic interest in divesting from China, but a moral one. 
Communist gulags are alive and well in 2022. <a href="https://t.co/go0lnnZV8z">https://t.co/go0lnnZV8z</a>
&mdash; Rep. Yvette Herrell (@RepHerrell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepHerrell/status/1529130846292217859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The news comes shortly after research by The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/five-woke-companies-that-benefit-from-uyghur-slave-labor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documented</a> that a February 2020 <a href="http://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/2021-10/Uyghurs%20for%20sale%2020OCT21.pdf?VersionId=zlRFV8AtLg1ITtRpzBm7ZcfnHKm6Z0Ys">report</a> from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), the Chinese Communist Party has facilitated “a state-sponsored labour transfer scheme” of “Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country.” Living in segregated dormitories and forced to undergo ideological training outside of work hours, these Uyghurs — many of whom are Muslims — are forbidden from practicing their religion or otherwise expressing dissent with their government.
Many former inmates of Uyghur detention camps have <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/7/28/21333345/uighurs-china-internment-camps-forced-labor-xinjiang">experienced</a> torture and sexual abuse as part of their “re-education” process. One female survivor <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/12/18/uyghur-women-recall-horrors-of-chinas-labor-camps/">recalled</a> getting removed from the streets by law enforcement, enduring gang rape, and being forced to take sterilization pills. By several estimates, the Uyghur genocide is the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/24/china-cables-leak-no-escapes-reality-china-uighur-prison-camp">largest</a> mass imprisonment of a minority group since World War II.

Ethnic Uygur women (R) clash with Chines

Leaked Files Reveal China’s Human Rights Violations Against Uyghur Muslims

Hacked Files Reveal China's Human Rights Violations Against Uyghur Muslims

There is a rising trend in corporate America to make businesses more “socially conscious” — at least in the minds of Western consumers.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria are “a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments,” according to <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/environmental-social-and-governance-esg-criteria.asp">Investopedia</a>. For instance, a company may emphasize its use of green energy, association with LGBTQ suppliers, or otherwise arrange its operations such that producing shareholder value is inseparable from a leftist agenda.
Elon Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-condemns-rising-woke-trend-in-corporate-america">warned</a> just a few weeks ago that “ESG rules have been twisted into insanity.” This year’s ranking of the “<a href="https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees/">World’s Most Ethical Companies</a>” by Ethisphere — the “global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character” — helps to explain why. 
With its “deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards,” Ethisphere identified 136 organizations that deserve our praise for their outstanding moral fiber. Many of these corporations <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-year-after-george-floyd-americas-biggest-corporations-earmark-37-billion-for-racial-equity">poured money</a> into “racial equity” initiatives following the death of George Floyd. Nevertheless, many also have ties to forced labor in Xinjiang, China — a world away from the eyes of woke Western consumers.
‘A State-Sponsored Labour Transfer Scheme’
As pointed out by a February 2020 <a href="http://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/2021-10/Uyghurs%20for%20sale%2020OCT21.pdf?VersionId=zlRFV8AtLg1ITtRpzBm7ZcfnHKm6Z0Ys">report</a> from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), the Chinese Communist Party has facilitated “a state-sponsored labour transfer scheme” of “Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country.” Living in segregated dormitories and forced to undergo ideological training outside of work hours, these Uyghurs — many of whom are Muslims — are forbidden from practicing their religion or otherwise expressing dissent with their government.
Many former inmates of Uyghur detention camps have <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/7/28/21333345/uighurs-china-internment-camps-forced-labor-xinjiang">experienced</a> torture and sexual abuse as part of their “re-education” process. One female survivor <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/12/18/uyghur-women-recall-horrors-of-chinas-labor-camps/">recalled</a> getting removed from the streets by law enforcement, enduring gang rape, and being forced to take sterilization pills. By several estimates, the Uyghur genocide is the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/24/china-cables-leak-no-escapes-reality-china-uighur-prison-camp">largest</a> mass imprisonment of a minority group since World War II.
Yet none of this seems to bother some of the Western world’s most valuable — and most woke — companies. Indeed, ASPI’s report identified 82 brands in the clothing, technology, and automotive sectors that benefit from Uyghurs’ forced labor.
<h4>Apple</h4>
Apple — a one-time honoree on the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list — has multiple firms in its supply chain that utilize forced labor.
In 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited supplier O-Film Technology and posted a picture of himself on an O-Film factory floor in Guangzhou, China. In a since-deleted press release, Cook praised O-Film for its “humane approach towards employees,” claiming that the workers seemed “able to gain growth at the company, and live happily.”
However, ASPI points out that five months after Cook’s visit, the Hotan government in Xinjiang contacted O-Film, hoping to supply another 1,300 workers. In December 2017, a Uyghur who claimed to have worked at O-Film said that there were more than a thousand Uyghur workers at the O-Film factory in Jiangxi.
Two years later, a local government document indicated that 560 Xinjiang laborers were transferred to work in factories in the Henan province — including Foxconn’s Zhengzhou facility. The Zhengzhou plant makes half of the world’s iPhones and has even earned Zhengzhou the nickname of “iPhone city.”
Beyond O-Film and Foxconn, Apple incorporated Dongguan Yidong Electronic Co. and Changji Esquel Textile Co. into its supply chain.
Here in the United States, Apple <a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/01/apple-launches-major-new-racial-equity-and-justice-initiative-projects-to-challenge-systemic-racism-advance-racial-equity-nationwide/">devoted</a> $100 million toward racial equity and justice initiatives “to help dismantle systemic barriers to opportunity and combat injustices faced by communities of color.” Cook proclaimed that “we are all accountable to the urgent work of building a more just, more equitable world” in a manner consistent with “the values of equity and inclusion we have always prized at Apple.”
<h4>Sony</h4>
Sony — a four-time honoree on the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list — also procures many of its devices from Chinese facilities using Uyghur labor, including O-Film, Highbroad, Dongguan Yidong, and Foxconn.
The Japanese technology conglomerate <a href="https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/blog/2021/04/15/">professes</a> to believe in “building a culture that makes business and employee diversity a priority” with diversity “as one of our core values.” With a $100 million global social justice fund, Sony has expressed concern with “the terrifying rise in hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community across the United States.” 
Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida once noted that “racial injustice is a global issue that affects us all” and insisted that his company is “committed to the human rights of all people.”
<h4>Dell</h4>
Dell Technologies — a ten-time honoree on the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list — also procured from O-Film, Highbroad, and Foxconn, as well as Sichuan Mianyang Jingweida Technology Co.
In the summer of 2020, CEO Michael Dell <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/standing-strong-together-michael-dell/">told</a> his employees that the death of George Floyd was “all too familiar” for “people of color in communities all over this country and around the world.” He added that “for all the work we do within our own company, there will never be true justice or equality until we root out the rotten underbelly of racism that is eating away at the most cherished values we hold dear.”
<h4>General Motors</h4>
General Motors — a three-time honoree on the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list — is also associated with O-Film and Dongguan Yidong.
The automaker <a href="https://plants.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2020/jun/0605-support.html">designated</a> $10 million for donations to racial justice organizations in the summer of 2020. According to GM CEO Mary Barra, the funding was meant to help “root out intolerance — and that means racism, bigotry, discrimination and any other form of hatred.”
“We want to be part of meaningful, deliberate change and we will not allow ourselves the passivity of urging others to act,” she vowed. “We are taking action.”
<h4>Microsoft</h4>
Microsoft — a twelve-time honoree on the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list — has links to O-Film, Dongguan Yidong, and Foxconn.
The technology company is in the middle of a five-year <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2021/06/09/our-annual-report-racial-equity-initiative-strengthening-our-communities/">initiative</a> to strengthen African-American communities in the United States — complete with a $50 million commitment to police and prosecution reform. According to CEO Satya Nadella, “seeing injustice in the world calls us all to take action, as individuals and as a company.”
&#8216;Human Rights Due Diligence&#8217;
The hypocrisy of multinational corporations willing to toss a few million dollars toward woke nonprofits in the United States while bankrolling ethnic cleansing abroad is quite apparent. Fortunately, many Americans are now taking notice — and lawmakers are taking action.
President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act-into-law">signed</a> the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into law in December. Sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the legislation stipulates that no goods made with slave labor from Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province will make it to the United States. However, the legislation was passed despite a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-nike-lobbying-against-anti-china-bill-banning-import-of-products-made-by-forced-uyghur-labor">lobbying</a> push from firms like Nike, Coca-Cola, and “World’s Most Ethical Companies” designee Apple.
How should Western companies respond to their tainted supply chains? ASPI recommends that each company should “conduct immediate and thorough human rights due diligence on its factory labour in China, including robust and independent social audits and inspections.” Any factories implicated should then be reformed or abandoned.
And in the meantime, we should avoid lauding these companies for their compassion.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Woke

Five ‘Woke’ Companies That Benefit From Uyghur Slave Labor

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Beijing Olympics spokesperson Yan Jiarong insisted that concerns about genocide against Uyghurs are “lies.”
During a news conference on Thursday, three days before the conclusion of the Games, organizers’ “persistent and polite refusal to answer such questions gave way to the usual state of affairs at news conferences with Chinese officials — emphatic, calibrated answers about the country’s most sensitive situations,” the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-china-politics-taiwan-uyghurs-33a2c2059fb253091b6772de3895207a">Associated Press</a> reported.
“I think these questions are based on lies,” Yan <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/17/beijing-2022-organisers-claim-stories-of-xinjiang-human-rights-abuses-are-lies">said</a> with respect to concentration camps in Xinjiang. “Some authorities have already disputed such false information with a lot of solid evidence. You are very welcome to refer to all that evidence and facts.”
Yan also repeated Chinese Communist Party talking points with respect to the status of Taiwan.
“Taiwan is an indivisible part of China and this is a well recognized international principle and well recognized in the international community,” she insisted. “We are always against the idea of politicizing the Olympic Games.”
Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams denied any association between the Games and the Uyghur genocide. Another reporter asked whether garments used in the Olympics were made with forced labor. “None of the production took place in Xinjiang, nor any of the input of raw materials comes from that region,” Adams replied.
When pressed by a reporter who suggested that Yan had “politicized” the Games by mentioning China’s view of Taiwan, Adams responded that “there are views on all sorts of things around the world, but our job is to make sure that the Games take place.”
“I think the so-called forced labor in Xinjiang are lies made up by deliberate groups,” Yan offered. “And the relevant organizations have provided a large amount of facts to dispute that. And we are against the politicization of sports.”
The IOC, however, claims to uphold human rights. According to its <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/human-rights">website</a>:
<blockquote>The IOC is committed to improving the promotion and respect of human rights within the scope of its responsibility across its three spheres of activity — as an organisation, as the owner of the Olympic Games and as the leader of the Olympic Movement.
The objective is to ensure that people’s rights are put at the core of our operations and are respected in line with international agreements and standards — within the IOC’s remit.</blockquote>
The reality of Chinese human rights abuses has driven much controversy about the Games among competing nations. Canada, Australia, and the United States are participating in diplomatic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-canada-joins-u-s-in-diplomatic-boycott-of-2022-winter-olympic-games-in-beijing">boycotts</a>, refusing to send government officials in light of “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity,” according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
“The athletes on Team USA have our full support, we’ll be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home. We will not be contributing to the fanfare of the Games,” Psaki added.
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Opening Ceremony – Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Day 0

Beijing Olympics Organizers Dismiss Concerns About Uyghur Genocide As ‘Lies’

Beijing Olympics

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