Corporate greed fuels human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims in China

By Ateet Sharma New Delhi, Dec 7 : The tussle between corporate greed and human rights in Xinjiang has come into sharp focus inside the United States. A number of American companies have recently attracted sharp criticism from Uyghur activists all over the world for making desperate attempts to weaken the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, a bill in the United States Congress which imposes various restrictions related to Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region, including by prohibiting certain imports from Xinjiang and imposing sanctions on those responsible for human rights violations there.
The US Department of Homeland Security had announced earlier this week that the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at country’s all ports of entry will detain shipments containing cotton and cotton products originating from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) where the Chinese government is engaged in systemic human rights abuses against the Uyghur people and other ethnic and religious minorities.
This, however, hasn’t convinced many Chinese dissidents, including exiled artist Badiucao currently living in Australia, who are enraged with recent revelations in the US media that some major multinational companies are “lobbying” to weaken the bill which wouldn’t allow goods manufactured or produced in Xinjiang to enter the United States unless CBP determines that they were not manufactured by convict labour, forced labour, or indentured labour.
The New York Times had reported a few days ago that the legislation has become the target of business groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce and major companies like Nike, Coca-Cola and Apple whose supply chains touch the far western Xinjiang region. The report said that lobbyists have “fought to water down” some of bill’s provisions as it could wreak havoc on supply chains that are deeply embedded in China.
Satirical Chinese dissident artist, known by his pseudonym Badiucao, took to Twitter by posting online artwork to express his anger against the US companies lobbying against the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and “supporting China’s Uyghur genocide via using XJ cotton”.
Washington-based Campaign For Uyghurs (CFU), a non-profit organization which advocates for the democratic rights and freedoms of the Uyghur people, said that the latest confirmation reveals further evidence of the work that remains to be done to hold businesses accountable.