(An open letter to US President Joe Biden)

You were the first politician in the world to recognize the Uyghur situation as genocide. So, as I said in my congratulatory message, I was expecting a tougher policy than Donald Trump on the Uyghur issue.  Unfortunately, the words and steps you are taking about China are making me frustrated and worried about the fate of our people.

For example, you have announced that you will cooperate with China on issues such as climate and healthcare. How does it meet American values ​​to demand cooperation with a country that is known to be committing genocide?!

In addition, you encouraged Xi Jinping by praising him as “very bright,” and you hinted that you could tolerate the Uyghur genocide by stating, “culturally, there are different norms” in China.

 

Your comments indicate some signs of softening less than a month after your administration has come to power. I don’t think you are irresponsible enough to forget what you said earlier or the intensity of your comments. I think that you clearly understand that there are more than 3 million people in the concentration camps, prisons since 2017. I also believe you have been informed about  reports of the ongoing deaths, illnesses, and rapes in these camps.

What is preventing you from taking a tough stance on China’s crimes against humanity and taking drastic measures? Is it the economic interests of the United States? I don’t think so; you were elected by the American people, and they will never accept the benefits of sacrificing helpless people. A key principle of your party is to put truth and justice first. However, your Chinese policy directly opposes the will of the American people, the principles of your party, and your own promises.

I urge you to correct your missteps on the Uyghur genocide by following my suggestions below:

  1. The U.S. government must immediately bring the Uyghur genocide to the UN Security Council and submit it to the UN for discussion.
  2. The U.S. government should demand that China immediately release between three million to five million prisoners in camps, prisons, and forced labor camps and allow them to reunite with their families.
  3. The U.S. should impose sanctions on Chinese companies, such as  Albaba, Baidu among others  which are directly involved in the Uyghur genocide through techniques they produced like  Uyghur alert and blanked out concentration camps  of its mapping platform.
  4. Urge all U.S. companies indirectly involved in the Uyghur genocide to immediately reconsider and suspend trade with China.

Stopping the Uyghur genocide is not only about the extermination of the Uyghur people, but also about world peace, controlling the bloody regime that aspires to be the lord of the world, and the core interests of the United States.

Finally, President Biden, as a former lawmaker and former millionaire who has lived under Chinese rule for nearly half a century, I would like to emphasize that the U.S. cannot unite other countries against China without first confirming its own stance. If you think that the U.S. is not powerful enough to stop China today, then it will not be powerful enough tomorrow either. Do not allow China to take over world dominance from the United States during your watch.

Rebiya Kadeer

Leader of the Uyghur National Movement