Text of Senate Amendment 5893

On 2026-06-22, Senator John Thune (R-SD) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 5893" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 5893

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 104 (Monday, June 22, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 104 (Monday, June 22, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S3014-S3015] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 5893. Mr. THUNE (for Mr. Curtis (for himself and Mr. Merkley)) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by Mr. Thune to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of title XII, add the following: Subtitle F--Coordination on Uyghur Issues SEC. 1271. SHORT TITLE. This subtitle may be cited as the ``Uyghur Policy Act of 2026''. SEC. 1272. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) The People's Republic of China (referred to in this subtitle as the ``PRC'') continues to repress the distinct Islamic, Turkic identity of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (referred to in this subtitle as the ``XUAR'') in northwestern China and other areas in which they have habitually resided. (2) Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities historically making up the majority of the XUAR population have maintained a distinct religious and cultural identity throughout their history. (3) The PRC-- (A) ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, done at New York, December 16, 1966, and is thereby bound by its provisions; and (B) signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, done at New York December 19, 1966. (4) PRC authorities manipulated the strategic objectives of the international war on terror to mask their increasing cultural and religious oppression of Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups residing in the XUAR. (5) In 2014, PRC authorities launched the ``Strike Hard Against Violent Extremism'' campaign, in which dubious allegations of widespread extremist activity were used as justification for violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR. (6) PRC authorities have made use of its legal system as a tool of repression, including for the imposition of arbitrary detentions and torture against members of the Uyghur community and other ethnic and religious minority groups. (7) Uyghurs and Kazakhs who have secured citizenship or permanent residency outside of the PRC have attested to repeated threats, harassment, and surveillance by PRC officials. (8) Reporting from international news organizations has found that during the past decade, in order to silence dissent or to force exiled or other overseas Uyghurs to return to the PRC, family members of such Uyghur individuals or members of other ethnic and religious minority groups living inside the PRC have disappeared or been detained by PRC authorities. (9) In February 2025, Thai authorities refouled 40 detained Uyghurs to Xinjiang, ignoring warnings from the United States Government and Congress. (10) In 2017, Radio Free Asia's Uyghur Service was the first media organization to report on the PRC's vast, mass arbitrary-detention program in the XUAR. (11) International civil society has compiled credible evidence that-- (A) more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups were detained in extrajudicial ``vocational education and training centers''; and (B) thousands more such individuals continue to be coerced to participate in state-led forced labor transfer programs. (12) Independent accounts from former detainees of ``vocational education and training'' centers describe inhumane conditions and treatment, including forced political indoctrination, torture, beatings, rape, forced sterilization, and food deprivation. (13) Former detainees also confirmed that they were told by guards that the only way to secure release was to demonstrate sufficient political loyalty to the Government of the PRC. (14) Discourse surrounding the ongoing atrocities in the XUAR, including efforts to support the Uyghur community, remains limited in most Muslim majority nations around the world. (15) Former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo determined, and both former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed, that the Government of the PRC continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the XUAR. (16) Multiple foreign government bodies have declared that atrocities by the Government of the PRC against Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR constitute genocide, including the European Parliament and the parliaments of Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, respectively. (17) On March 12, 2026, China's National People's Congress adopted the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, which mandates Mandarin instruction for minority children beginning in preschool and subjects all ethnic affairs to party authority, systematically eroding the linguistic and cultural identity of Uyghurs and other minority groups. SEC. 1273. SENSE OF CONGRESS. It is the sense of Congress that-- (1) the Government of the PRC should-- (A) recognize, and take tangible steps to protect and preserve, the distinct ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR; (B) immediately cease all government-sponsored crackdowns, imprisonments, and detentions of people throughout the XUAR aimed at repressing their ethnic, cultural, political, or religious identities; and (C) cease all government-sponsored transnational repression of Uyghurs, including the detainment, harassment, intimidation, and surveillance of the family members of exiled Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and minority groups in the XUAR; (2) the Government of the PRC should immediately open the XUAR to regular, transparent, and unmanipulated visits by-- (A) members of the press; (B) international organizations; (C) academic and research institutions focused on internationally recognized human rights; and (D) foreign delegations, including delegations from the United States; (3) it is commendable that countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Turkiye, among others, have provided shelter and hospitality to Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority group members in exile from the PRC; (4) the Government of the PRC should immediately grant unconditional release of all prisoners that have been detained for their ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic identities, for expressing their political or religious beliefs in the XUAR, or for being related to members of the Uyghur diaspora or activist community, including-- (A) Ekpar Asat, who participated in the Department of State's International Visitors Leadership Program in 2016, was incarcerated after returning to the XUAR, and is now serving a 15-year prison sentence on charges of ``inciting ethnic hatred and ethnic discrimination''; (B) Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a Uyghur retired medical doctor who was unjustly detained in the XUAR on September 11, 2018, and unfairly sentenced to 20 years in prison in retaliation for her sister's advocacy for Uyghurs; (C) Illham Tohti, a Uyghur economics professor who advocated for improving Uyghur-Han relations and improving the implementation of regional autonomy laws in the PRC, was detained on January 15, 2014, and sentenced to life in prison on charges of ``separatism''; and (D) Rahile Dawut, a professor who researched Uyghur folklore and traditions and was detained in 2017 and sentenced to life in prison on charges of ``splittism'' and ``endangering State security''; (5) the Government of the PRC should facilitate comprehensive access for international organizations, to ``vocational education and training'' centers, prisons, and factories in the XUAR; and (6) the Department of State should continue to facilitate the unhindered dissemination of information to the international community regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, religious freedom, and transnational repression of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR. SEC. 1274. UNITED STATES STRENGTHENING OF COORDINATION ON UYGHUR ISSUES. (a) In General.--The Secretary of State should, as appropriate-- (1) prioritize policies, programs, and projects, in coordination with other relevant agencies, to support Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR; (2) vigorously promote policies to protect the distinct ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic identities of the Uyghurs and other minority groups; (3) maintain close contact with Uyghur religious, cultural, and political leaders, including by seeking regular travel to the XUAR and visiting Uyghur diaspora communities around the world; (4) advocate for the release of political prisoners in the XUAR who were detained for exercising their internationally recognized human rights to put pressure on exiled Uyghurs; [[Page S3015]] (5) regularly consult with Congress regarding policies relevant to the XUAR and the Uyghurs; (6) engage with counterparts in Europe, Central Asia, and member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation-- (A) to promote internationally recognized human rights and religious freedom for Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR; and (B) to develop and implement joint initiatives and programs aimed at promoting awareness and supporting Uyghur victims of detention, har