US lawmakers launch legislation hitting China

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday seeking to punish China over its "human rights abuses" of the majority-Muslim Uighur population in the country's west, a move that drew immediate anger from Beijing.

Legislation introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives seeks to toughen US President Donald Trump's administration's response to what the lawmakers say are gross violations of human rights in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

The bill urges US authorities to impose targeted sanctions on members of China's government, the ruling Communist Party and state security apparatus, as well Xinjiang Party Secretary Chen Quanguo and other officials "credibly alleged to be responsible for human rights abuses in Xinjiang and elsewhere."

Washington must hold government and Communist Party officials "responsible for gross violations of human rights and possible crimes against humanity, including the internment in 'political re-education' camps of as many as a million Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities," Senator Marco Rubio, a chief sponsor, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a group of 15 Western ambassadors in Beijing, spearheaded by Canada, are seeking a meeting with the top official in China for an explanation of alleged rights abuses against ethnic Uighurs, reported Reuters.