/CHINA: House Approves Bill To Punish China Over Human Rights

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which mandates the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list of entities collaborating with Beijing in the repression of Xinjiang Uyghurs and other minority ethnic groups.

• The bill also includes a "rebuttable presumption" that any business importing goods from Xinjiang will have to seek permission of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection by proving that the products were not made using forced labour.
• Lawmakers passed the bill with 428-1 votes in favour, which reflects a broad bipartisan consensus on the matter within the U.S. Congress.
• The legislation will likely ratchet up the tension between the U.S. and China after the former has spearheaded an international diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing.
• The bill will now be submitted to the Senate, which has already passed a similar measure. The upper house will have to either accept the House bill or reconcile conflicting provisions in the two bills before sending the final version to the White House.