Florida Senators Welcome State Department Designating Chinese Policies Against Uyghurs as Genocide

Florida’s two U.S. senators–Republicans Marco Rubio and Rick Scott–backed the Trump administration’s decision to classify the Chinese regime’s treatment of Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) as crimes against humanity and genocide.

On the last full day of the Trump administration, the U.S. State Department made that designation on Tuesday.

Rubio, who sits on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and helps lead the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), threw his support behind the decision.

“The Trump administration did the right thing by calling the horrific crimes being committed by the Chinese Communist Party against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities by their rightful name: crimes against humanity and genocide,” Rubio said. “Today’s determination by the State Department is an important step towards accountability and justice, as we included in the FY2021 Omnibus Appropriations spending bill. The ongoing crimes at the hands of the Chinese government is a human tragedy that demands an immediate international response. These determinations are a call to action for the incoming administration, Congress, and our allies. We must ensure that the U.S. and free nations do all we can to end these atrocities and ensure that it remains a priority of our nation’s China policy.”

Last month, Scott urged the State Department to declare the Chinese regime’s treatment of the Uyghurs and other Muslim groups to be genocide. He welcomed the new designation on Tuesday.

“We know what’s happening in Communist China is a genocide. The CCP has established hundreds of concentration camps in order to imprison, torture and enslave Uyghurs living in Xinjiang. Through torture, the CCP threatens Uyghurs to forsake their language, their faith and their culture. I’ve been calling for strong action for months, and I’m glad the administration listened and took a stand today against murderous dictators and let the world know this won’t be tolerated. The United States is the greatest supporter of freedom and democracy in the world, and we will never stop fighting to end human rights abuses. I urge every freedom-loving nation to do the same,” Scott said.

Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.