87R21035 TBO-D By: Reynolds H.R. No. 1331 R E S O L U T I O N WHEREAS, The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic group with a population of approximately 11 million in Xinjiang, a northwestern region of China; and WHEREAS, Since 2017, China's government has forcibly transferred more than one million Uyghurs to reeducation camps, and experts estimate that there are over 1,000 camps throughout the country, including hundreds in Xinjiang; the arbitrary detention of Uyghurs follows a series of 2014 speeches delivered by China's president, Xi Jinping, who advocated for the use of "dictatorship" to fight the "toxicity of religious extremism"; and WHEREAS, Many former detainees who fled China have spoken out about the camps' harsh conditions; they report being forced to renounce Islam and to pledge loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, as well as being subjected to strict surveillance, torture, sexual abuse, and compulsory sterilization; in addition, an international tribunal concluded that the Chinese government has harvested the organs of some detainees against their will; and WHEREAS, Thousands of Uyghurs have been involuntarily sent to work in the factories of large, multinational corporations; in June 2020, Congress passed legislation that requires U.S. businesses involved with Xinjiang to ensure that their activities do not contribute to human rights violations; and WHEREAS, In January 2021, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that China is committing crimes against humanity and genocide against Uyghurs, and current U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken later affirmed this declaration; subsequently, the Canadian and Dutch parliaments passed nonbinding motions to use the term "genocide" in reference to China's actions against Uyghurs; and WHEREAS, The atrocities committed by China's government have infringed on the rights of countless people, and any past, present, or future efforts to support the Uyghur genocide should be condemned; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas Legislature hereby strongly condemn the actions of president Xi Jinping and the Chinese government, recognize the Chinese treatment of Uyghurs as genocide, and urge all multinational corporations to stop all use of forced labor in their factories and facilities.