Republican Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley from Oregon sent letters to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and three tour companies on Thursday.
In January 2021, the U.S. government determined that genocide and crimes against humanity were being committed in the region, where Chinese authorities have detained millions of people in internment camps and other facilities.
In the letters, the U.S. lawmakers asked Abercrombie & Kent, Geographic Expeditions and Wild Frontiers to cancel any planned trips to Xinjiang, respond to questions about such tours advertised on their websites and explain their company policies.
“Chinese authorities are now investing heavily in promoting tourism in the XUAR while continuing to subject Uyghur and other Turkic and Muslim residents of the region to unjust detention, forced labor, and religious repression,” Smith and Merkley wrote.
“In recent years, authorities also used homestay programs to surveil Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims and compile information that was later used to justify detaining individuals in mass internment camps,” the pair said.
Smith and Merkley stressed that tourism to Xinjiang “serves as a conduit for Chinese authorities’ repression of Turkic and Muslim peoples and facilitates the destruction and appropriation of their heritage and identity.”
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Republican Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley from Oregon sent letters to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and three tour companies on Thursday.
In January 2021, the U.S. government determined that genocide and crimes against humanity were being committed in the region, where Chinese authorities have detained millions of people in internment camps and other facilities.
In the letters, the U.S. lawmakers asked Abercrombie & Kent, Geographic Expeditions and Wild Frontiers to cancel any planned trips to Xinjiang, respond to questions about such tours advertised on their websites and explain their company policies.
“Chinese authorities are now investing heavily in promoting tourism in the XUAR while continuing to subject Uyghur and other Turkic and Muslim residents of the region to unjust detention, forced labor, and religious repression,” Smith and Merkley wrote.
“In recent years, authorities also used homestay programs to surveil Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims and compile information that was later used to justify detaining individuals in mass internment camps,” the pair said.
Smith and Merkley stressed that tourism to Xinjiang “serves as a conduit for Chinese authorities’ repression of Turkic and Muslim peoples and facilitates the destruction and appropriation of their heritage and identity.”
The original article contains 585 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 66%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!