One Republican votes against condemning China for its genocide against Uyghurs

Thomas Massie says he voted ‘no’ as he believes US should not interfere in China’s internal affairs

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed three measures against China in protest against the country’s human rights record. One Republican, however, voted against two of the three bills.

The three measures ban imports from Xinjiang in China and condemn the “ongoing genocide” in the region amid concerns over forced labour and human rights abuses.

A resolution that the International Olympic Committee violated its own human rights commitments by cooperating with China was passed 428-0. The resolution was brought in protest against the case of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, who “disappeared” shortly after accusing a former top Chinese government official of sexual harassment.

The remaining two resolutions were passed with only one Republican, Kentucky representative Thomas Massie, voting against them.

One of these resolutions condemned the “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity” committed against Uyghurs and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups by China and called for action at the United Nations.

The other measure involved placing new restrictions on imports from Xinjiang by US Customs and Border Protection through a bill called the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act” places. The bill sought to ensure that goods produced through forced labor by minority groups, including Uyghurs, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, will not be purchased or sold in the US.

Mr Massie sparked outrage recently after he posted a Christmas photo of his family posing with guns, just days after four students were murdered in Michigan in the deadliest school shooting in the country since 2018.

The photo showed Mr Massie and his family, all holding guns, posing in front of a Christmas tree. The photo was captioned: “Merry Christmas! PS Santa, please bring ammo.”

The social media post received backlash for being insensitive to the victims of the shooting at a Michigan high school, where sophomore Ethan Crumbley is accused of opening fire on fellow students.

Mr Massie said that he voted “no” as he believed that the US should not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, reported The New York Times.

The three resolutions come amid simmering tensions between US and China.

Just two days earlier, the Joe Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China in February. The US said on Monday that no government official will attend the Winter Olympics in protest against alleged human rights abuses and genocide by China.

Beijing has denied any wrongdoing in Xinjiang amid a global chorus from rights activists to boycott the country.

After the bills were passed House speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement: “Today, Congress sends a clear message: the Chinese government’s genocide of the Uyghur people must end now.”

“If the US does not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interests, we lose all moral authority to speak out for human rights any place in the world,” Ms Pelosi added.

The bills will now go to the Senate before they are sent to president Joe Biden for approval.