Until recently, the United States was at the forefront of the struggle to stop the crimes of atrocity of China against Uighurs. The US Congress has adopted historical legislation such as Uighur Human Rights Policy Act and the UflPA forced labor prevention law (UFLPA). The government put 144 Chinese companies on the list of UFLPA and sanctioned 12 authors with Global Magnitsky Asset Greezes. In 2021, both Asset And Biden Administrations have officially recognized the Chinese Treatment of Uighurs as genocide and crimes against humanity.
These measures had the effect of putting China on the alert that its crimes had consequences.
But it seems that China now believes that it has a free pass. At two essential moments in the past three years, the United States has failed the Uighurs. Both were completely avoidable.
In 2022, the Biden administration gave China an easy victory when the United Nations Human Rights Council voted against Hold a debate on the crimes of atrocity of China in Xinjiang. THE margin was thin – 19 against, 17 in favor, with 11 abstentions. The United States, despite its diplomatic weight, failed to put pressure on its allies. Two key governments, Ukraine and Qatar, abstained. Meanwhile, China was working behind the scenes, directly pressure on foreign ministers to vote against the measure. Its intimidation worked.
On February 27, 2025, a few weeks before the second Trump administration, Thailand expelled 40 Uighur men in China in the middle of the night. Men were part of 48 refugees who had been Thai detention For more than 10 years after having fled the persecution in China in 2014. The United States had ample opportunity to prevent it but did not act. China, on the other hand, has played its hand masterfully. A few weeks earlier, he welcomed the Thai Prime Minister for a state visit to discuss Chinese investment.
After Thailand was criticized for having sent Upine -ours to an almost certified torture – and worse – in the hands of the Chinese government, Thai officials first said that no other country would take refugees. But only days later, the officials admitted That many nations, including the United States, had proposed to reinstall Uighurs. Russ Jalichanda, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs in Thailand, revealed that the expulsion had been made to avoid “reprisals of China which would have an impact on the livelihoods of many Thai people”.
What was the United States doing to counter this known pressure campaign?
Thailand is a major non-nato ally of the United States. Why was the annual military exercise of Cobra Gold-a cornerstone of American-Thai relations-been used as a lever to put pressure on Thailand? Whatever the messages that Washington sent private in Thailand, which made his position clearly, US officials waited in the morning after the expulsion to publish a public declaration of conviction. Words without action do nothing for Uighurs who have now been returned to the hands of their oppressors from the start of the new American administration.
When Marco Rubio was appointed Secretary of State, Uighurs felt a wave of optimism. In Congress, he was the main sponsor of key legislation linked to Uighur authors. In 2018, as president of the Congress Commission-Executive on China, Senator Rubio directed The very first hearing of the congress to hear the testimony of a survivor of the camps. Calling atrocities against “badly” Ughurs, he said: “In the 21st century, we must not, cannot and must not accept the mass internment of individuals according to their religious faith, on the basis of their cultural identity.”
During his confirmation hearing in January, Rubio clearly declared The fact that the major failure of the United States concerning China was that “we allowed them to get away with things”. When asked, “Are you going to put pressure so that Thailand does not return these Uighurs to the horror they will face when they return?” His answer was “yes”.
We therefore hoped that once in office, he would find a way to defeat the China campaign to intimidate and weld Thai politicians with investment agreements worth billions. We were wrong.
We know that the United States can stop deportations to China when it wants. Several years ago, we helped a Uighur who had been detained in Thailand to reach a safe refuge in the United States. In fact, the United States has saved the survivors of the camps and other Uighur refugees blocked in half a dozen countries in Central Asia in the Middle East. If this was possible in previous administrations, why not now?
This new administration has the possibility of keeping its promises – to make America stronger, safer and more prosperous – by defending fundamental freedoms and against authoritarian coercion. He must ensure that Uighur Americans are not victims of transnational repression in the hands of the foreign police and that the United States and its allies are not victims of bullying by China on the world scene.
If the United States is not contrary to religious persecution, which will? The United States should not waver in the face of tyranny. If the United States intends to be great, it cannot allow China a free pass to intimidate its allies.