Congressional hearing probes corporate role in funding China’s human rights abuses.

U.S. Corporations Complicit in Human Rights Abuses by Chinese Communist Party, Witnesses Say

Witnesses at a hearing held by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) on Tuesday revealed that U.S. corporations are complicit in human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and pose national security risks by complying with the CCP’s demands.

During the hearing, commission chair Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) emphasized the CCP’s record of state-sanctioned genocide, torture, rape, forced abortion, and forced organ harvesting, calling it a “shameful record of wanton cruelty.” He urged American companies and consumers to stop subsidizing tyranny and expressed concerns about the CCP military’s growth as a security threat to the United States and the Asia-Pacific region.

Strengthen Enforcement of New Law

The CECC’s key initiative against corporate complicity is the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which was enacted in December 2021. This law prohibits the entry of goods made with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang into the U.S. market. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began enforcing the law in June 2022.

Since then, CBP has stopped over 4,000 shipments valued at about $1.4 billion. About half of these shipments have been processed, with a rejection rate of approximately 30 percent. Malaysia is the top country of origin for these shipments.

The UFLPA prohibits the entry of items manufactured wholly or partially in Xinjiang or imported from companies on the entity list, which currently includes 22 Chinese companies. The latest additions to the list were made last month.

Robert Silvers, under secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and chair of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, informed the commission that the task force would utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to determine the true origin of goods.

Mr. Silvers assured Rep. Smith that CBP reviews would not exclude shipments below the $800 de minimis threshold, but acknowledged the challenge of reviewing them. He mentioned that the nation receives between 2 million and 3 million de minimis shipments per day and that efforts are being made to modernize cargo review and processing through software enhancements, regulatory data collection changes, and congressional appropriations.

Milwaukee Tool Alleged of Using Chinese Forced Labor

During the hearing, Shi Minglei, the wife of Chinese human rights activist Cheng Yuan, shared testimony about a potential case of slave labor outside of Xinjiang.

According to Ms. Shi, after being charged with “subversion of state power” in 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison, Mr. Cheng worked at a factory in the Hunan Chishan Prison, where gloves are made for Milwaukee Tool, an American brand.

Ms. Shi couldn’t confirm if Mr. Cheng worked on Milwaukee Tool gloves, but she knew he had been forced to work long hours under harsh conditions. She highlighted his experiences of solitary confinement, standing for hours, sleep and food deprivation, and being forced to drink water from the toilet.

Ms. Shi contacted major sales channels for Milwaukee Tool, including Walmart, Home Depot, and Amazon. While Walmart discontinued carrying the gloves on its website and promised to remove them from stores, Home Depot and Amazon continue to sell the Milwaukee Tool gloves made from forced labor.

Rep. Smith and Sen. Merkley wrote a letter to the president of Milwaukee Tool regarding the slave labor issue detailed in an investigative report.

Corporations ‘Kowtow to Xin Jinping on a Daily Basis’

Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom shared his experiences of facing consequences for criticizing China’s human rights record. He revealed that after being released, none of his NBA colleagues reached out to him, fearing the impact on their endorsement deals. This highlights the deep business ties between NBA owners and the Chinese market.

Isaac Stone Fish, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council, warned that even in the defense industry, American military companies might prioritize the CCP’s demands over the interests of the American people due to their extensive business connections in China.

Efforts are being made to address corporate complicity, but international cooperation is crucial for a more significant impact.