House Subcommittee Holds Hearings On China's Persecution of Uighurs

Yesterday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee held a hearing on on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight held hearings on "The Uighurs: A History of Persecution." Uighus are Muslims who live in China's East Turkestan, and have been the subject of cultural and religious oppression by the Chinese Communists. The full text of opening statements by Rep. Bill Delahunt's (D-MA) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's (R-CA) are available online, as are the prepared statements by Ms. Felice D. Gaer, Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Ms. Kara Miriam Abramson, Advocacy Director, Congressional-Executive Commission on China; Mrs. Rebiya Kadeer, World Uyghur Congress; and Mr. Nury Turkel, Uighur Rights Activist and Attorney. The hearings came just as the nation of Palau announced that it would allow the 17 Chinese Muslim Uighurs now being held at Guantanamo Bay to "temporarily resettle" in Palau. (New York Times.)