All Reading
This section contains a curated list of useful articles, investigations, books and other reading materials. The list is updated on a weekly basis and suggestions for additions are welcome.
Starting Points:
How Uyghur Forced Labor Makes Seafood That Ends Up in School Lunches
Uyghurs and North Koreans are forced to work in Chinese seafood processing plants. But the United States government purchases millions of dollars of this seafood for the military and school lunches.
Xinjiang governor cancels EU visit amid Uyghur abuse blowback
The governor of the Xinjiang region in China has canceled his controversial trip to Paris and Brussels, three people with knowledge of his plan told Politico.
China’s Uyghur abuses ‘may constitute crimes against humanity,’ UN finds
In a blistering report, the U.N.'s outgoing human rights chief confirmed that China has committed "serious human rights violations" against the Uyghur Muslim community, adding that such acts are potentially crimes against humanity.
Europe’s politicians (but not its businesses) speak out after UN report on China abuses
European reaction to a scathing U.N. report on Chinese human rights abuses lays bare a deep EU strategic vulnerability: While politicians can speak out against Beijing, companies are too exposed to China's massive market to do so.
UK ministers ready ban on health goods from China’s Xinjiang
U.K. ministers are preparing to ban the government from buying health goods made in China’s Xinjiang region, amid mounting pressure from Conservative MPs over Beijing's treatment of the Uyghur people.
Baerbock demands forced-labor ban, won’t attend Olympics
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for an EU-wide import ban on goods made with forced labor — a demand that would particularly hit China. Baerbock also said she won't attend the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. Yet she made clear that her decision was personal and not the official line of the German government, and that German foreign ministers usually don't attend Olympic games.
New law to combat forced labor in China sparks enforcement debate
President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a bill to curb forced labor in China that U.S. business groups and trade experts warn will inflict unnecessary pain on U.S. firms and punish legitimately employed Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region. Designed to insulate U.S. companies and consumers from complicity in forced labor practices in Xinjiang, industry groups and trade lawyers say the law's strict compliance standards coupled with problematic enforcement will harm US business interests and Uyghur Muslims.
UK hints at banning Chinese imports with forced labor links
The U.K. could follow Washington and ban goods imported from the Chinese region of Xinjiang that were made with forced labor, according to a senior British minister. The suggestion came as a string of China-skeptic Conservative MPs lined up to urge the U.K. government to follow suit in a bid to pile pressure on the Asian giant over its treatment of the region's Uyghur Muslim minority.
UK hints at banning Chinese imports with forced labor links
Minister Penny Mordaunt tells POLITICO government looking ‘very, very carefully at’ policy on Xinjiang — as prominent Conservative MPs urge Britain to follow Washington’s lead.
EU imposes sanctions on four Chinese officials
The European Union Monday approved sanctions against four Chinese officials involved in running internment camps for hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in the region of Xinjiang. The list conspicuously avoided targeting the top Communist Party boss in Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo, who was hit by U.S. measures last year.