Top House Republicans are spearheading a bill aimed at overturning the Biden administration's move to lift sanctions on a Chinese entity associated with the persecution of Uyghurs. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and co-led by House China select committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., targets the Ministry of Public Security's Institute of Forensic Science of China.
Ogles emphasized the need for the U.S. to address human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party, citing their history of such violations. Stefanik criticized President Biden for rewarding a Communist Chinese company despite their genocidal actions against the Uyghur population and other ethnic minorities. The bill, supported by 10 additional House GOP co-sponsors and conservative groups Heritage Action and America First Policy Institute, aims to relist China's Institute of Forensic Science on the Entity List to align with former President Trump's strategy of 'peace through strength'.
The Institute of Forensic Science was among nine entities sanctioned by the Trump administration in May 2020 for complicity in human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. The sanctions were lifted in November 2023 as part of efforts to encourage China to combat the flow of synthetic drugs and fentanyl precursors into the U.S. The State Department justified the decision by stating that the sanctions hindered cooperation on drug trafficking and that China's efforts to address precursor trafficking warranted the delisting.
