Rushan Abbas, founder of Campaign for Uyghurs, said that when Americans purchase goods produced from forced labor, they are enabling the genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Abbas shared her statement during an October 22 episode of the China Desk podcast.
"We have companies shipping millions of small packages, flooding the U.S. market with cheap goods made by my people," said Abbas. "When we use these goods, we are not just complicit—we are enablers of this genocide. China's economy profits while my people are enslaved."
According to Human Rights Watch, the Chinese government has been conducting a "widespread and systematic attack against Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang." The organization's report details actions including "mass arbitrary detention, torture enforced disappearances, mass surveillance, cultural and religious persecution, separation of families, forced labor, sexual violence, and violations of reproductive rights." These facilities are referred to as "political re-education camps" by Beijing. There has been no mass release from these prisons since the crackdown began in 2017, with approximately 500,000 Turkic Muslims detained.
Adam Savit from the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) released a report indicating that fast fashion brands Shein and Temu are utilizing "slave labor" under the Chinese Communist Party. Federal Newswire previously reported that products from these brands are sourced from Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities within China's Xinjiang region. Savit remarked that U.S. efforts to disengage from Xinjiang's production have "fallen short," urging the U.S. government to employ more enforcement mechanisms to dissociate from these unethically sourced supply chains.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFPLA) mandates the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to devise a strategy for banning imported goods created with forced labor from China's Xinjiang region. This act has been effective since June 2022.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas highlighted challenges in enforcing the UFPLA, such as the de minimis loophole which allows shipments valued at less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free with less scrutiny than more expensive shipments. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Mayorkas said: "One of the challenges that we have is the de minimis exception and the exploitation of that exception. And we are working towards and hoping to receive a legislative fix to give us greater authorities to address that."
Abbas founded Campaign for Uyghurs in 2017 to "advocate and promote human rights and democratic freedoms for Uyghurs," according to its website. She introduced and led the "One Voice One Step" movement organizing demonstrations on March 15, 2018 in multiple countries and cities protesting China's detention of millions of Uyghurs in concentration camps. Her activism began in the 1980s as a student leading pro-democracy demonstrations at Xinjiang University.
