The Hill’s published an opinion “China’s cover-ups don’t hide unending abuse for Uyghurs” written by Yalkun Uluyol. He writes not as a distant observer, but as a son and a member of the Uyghur diaspora. He recalls his last visit home to Kumul in June 2016: “I did not know it would be my last trip home, my last meal with my grandparents, the last hug from my father and the last time I felt I belonged.” Later that year, China launched mass arbitrary detentions of up to a million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims, placing them in “vocational education and training centers” and prisons without due process.

Uluyol describes a familiar pattern for Uyghurs abroad. Friends and relatives deleted him on WeChat, and calls went unanswered because contact with someone overseas could be seen as a threat. He writes that it took two years to trace his father, Memet Yaqup, to a detention camp, and two more to learn that he is serving a 16-year sentence near Urumqi. “I still don’t know his exact location, health condition or even the reason for his conviction.” He also recounts pressure and surveillance that reach beyond China’s borders. A U.N. expert told him, “You must not have anyone back home,” acknowledging the risks families face when relatives speak up. One Uyghur who joined a government propaganda tour told him, “I didn’t know if I would ever have another chance to see my family, which is why I chose to participate in the tour.”

Uluyol grounds his appeal in international findings. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded in 2022 that abuses in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity” and urged China to take “prompt steps to release all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty.” Beijing has rejected the report as “illegal and void,” while promoting a surface “normalcy.” As U.N. High Commissioner Volker Turk said, “many problematic laws and policies remain in place.” Uluyol’s message is direct. Until those wrongfully imprisoned are freed and guaranteed basic rights, governments and institutions must keep pressing.

Congress passes the Uyghur Policy Act

This week House has passed the bipartisan Uyghur Policy Act (H.R. 2635), led by Rep. Young Kim, Rep. Ami Bera, and Rep. Gregory Meeks. The bill coordinates U.S. policy at the State Department, empowers human rights advocates, seeks to close detention facilities and political reeducation camps, confronts transnational repression, and creates reporting mechanisms for victims.

Supporters state the stakes clearly. Rep. Young Kim said, “For too long, the Chinese Communist Party has orchestrated the forced sterilization, enslavement, and systematic murder of the Uyghur people… My Uyghur Policy Act sends a clear message that America will not tolerate egregious human rights violations perpetrated by the CCP.” Rep. Ami Bera called it “crucial” to safeguard the Uyghurs’ “distinct ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic identity” and to promote human rights and religious freedom in Xinjiang. Rushan Abbas of Campaign for Uyghurs praised the bill as “a vital step to ensure America stands firmly with the Uyghur people,” noting its push to close the camps, protect cultural identity, and confront transnational repression. The bill passed with strong bipartisan support and now heads to the Senate.

Reports over nearly a decade describe a system that combines detention, surveillance, and coercive labor. Beginning in 2017, Chinese authorities created “vocational education centers” that survivor testimony and independent observers identify as detention camps. The U.S. government has described the broader measures as genocide, state-imposed forced labor, and crimes against humanity.

Coercion is embedded in daily life. Uyghur adults are pressured into work programs under the banner of poverty alleviation and rural development. Individuals are compelled to and from detention with threats and abuse. “Labor transfers” move workers thousands of miles, separating them from families and communities. Children of detained parents are placed in state boarding schools. Companies receive subsidies to employ Uyghurs in settings designed for language training, political indoctrination, close monitoring, and religious restrictions. Refusal can invite police harassment or worse.

Where coerced labor shows up in global supply chains

Investigations have traced forced labor to many sectors:

• Cotton and textiles. Xinjiang produces about 20 percent of the world’s cotton, with forced labor documented at harvesting and ginning.
• Tomatoes and food processing. Xinjiang supplies much of China’s tomato paste, used in ketchup and other processed foods.
• Solar industry. Polysilicon from Xinjiang feeds a significant share of the global solar panel market.
• Metals and construction materials. Aluminum, steel, and PVC from Xinjiang go into autos and building products.
• Electronics and machinery. “Labor transfers” link Uyghur workers to factories far from Xinjiang, embedding coercion deeper into assembly lines.

Raw materials are often blended with inputs from other regions or countries, which makes it hard to verify origin and allows tainted goods to slip into global markets.

But complex supply chains hide origins. Blending at smelters, refineries, spinning mills, and gins can mask Xinjiang inputs. Goods can be shipped through third countries or processed elsewhere to disguise connections. Traditional audits and worker interviews are unreliable under heavy state surveillance. International standards are uneven, so products blocked in the United States may reach other markets. Many companies do not publish detailed supplier lists or use scientific traceability tools. Survivor support remains limited, even as evidence collection continues.

The U.S. response so far: UFLPA and enforcement

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act of 2021 created a rebuttable presumption that any goods mined, produced, or manufactured in whole or in part in Xinjiang, or by listed entities, are barred from entering the United States. Importers must show “clear and convincing evidence” that their products are not linked to forced labor. The law established a public Entity List and the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to coordinate enforcement and publish regular strategies.

Early enforcement targeted cotton, tomatoes, and solar polysilicon. By mid-2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported detaining more than 16,700 shipments worth about 3.7 billion dollars. The Entity List had expanded to 144 entities across agriculture, mining, chemicals, and manufacturing. Enforcement has broadened to high-priority sectors such as aluminum, PVC, steel, lithium, copper, luxury vinyl flooring, auto parts, electronics, drones, and other critical materials. Companies are expected to map supply chains down to raw materials, verify independently, and document each step.

Uluyol urges continued international pressure. He writes that “the Chinese government’s attempts to silence Uyghur critics abroad make it even more important for the U.N. and concerned governments to speak up.” He calls on the high commissioner to publish a comprehensive update on Xinjiang and brief the Human Rights Council, and on governments to use “all available means, including targeted sanctions.”

The work ahead is to enforce the laws already on the books, close the loopholes, support survivors, and keep speaking the truth. As Uluyol writes, “Until all those wrongfully imprisoned are freed unconditionally and guaranteed basic rights, I will continue to fight against Beijing’s repression. The U.N. and concerned governments should do the same.”

ACZ Editor: It will be difficult to get China to act on this, especially since so much negotiation remains on trade and military relations. This must be kept top of mind.