Keith Krach, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, speaks at the 2019 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City on Sept. 24, 2019. (Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit)
Former U.S. State Department officials Keith Krach and Ellie Cohanim say it’s Time for all Americans to take action to stop the Chinese Communist government’s genocide against Uighur Muslims. This state-led crime is reminiscent of the historic Nazi Holocaust.
In January, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo charged the Chinese Communist government with genocide over its persecution of Uighurs in the western Xinjiang region. The persecution includes forced sterilization, forced abortions, torture, forced labor, and the forced removal of children from their families.
Meanwhile, there are still more than 1 million Uighurs, held in Communist detention camps – which the government calls vocational training and Education centers.
On Monday (March 22), the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union jointly announced sanctions against officials responsible for the Chinese Communist Party‘s repressive policies in Xinjiang.
In an interview with Kolhanim alongside Krach, he said, “We are pleased to see that the governments are taking the right approach. But we also have a plan for every American so that every American can take action today.”
Kohanim believes that sanctions are the right approach because the Communist Party “can only understand power.”
A former deputy U.S. envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, Kohanim is now a visiting scholar at the Independent Women’s Forum, a U.S. nonprofit organization.
Keith Krach is the former U.S. deputy secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.
It’s time to stop this,” Krach said. If we don’t, then it’s going to continue. And it will spread.”
In a recent Newsweek op-ed, Kohanim and Krach compared the Communist Party’s crackdown in Xinjiang to the Nazi Holocaust. One similarity, they wrote, is the CCP’s dehumanizing propaganda against the Uighurs, which is reminiscent of how the Nazis portrayed the Jews before sending them to concentration camps.
Kohanim told, “We see the exact same tactics used by the Chinese Communist Party, who call the Uighur religion a contagious plague. They describe the Uighurs as a malignant tumor. They also describe the Uighurs as similar to weeds, and you have to use chemicals to get rid of all the weeds.”
She added, “The language is so unbelievable and reminiscent of the horrible language used by the Nazis [against Jews].”
“Empty the cash registers.”
Americans can stop funding the Chinese Communist Party by not investing in Chinese companies that have ties to Beijing or the Communist Party’s military.
The op-ed says, “On the other side of the world, Xinjiang will hear the sound of the (CCP) cash registers being emptied.”
Krach said, “What’s really sad is that ordinary American investors are unwittingly funding the Chinese Communist Party.” Passive investments in index funds, mutual funds or ETFs that are instead invested in Chinese companies have helped the Chinese Communist Party with human rights abuses, surveillance systems or military development, he said.
Kohanim encouraged U.S. investors – such as those who contribute to pension funds, mutual funds or to foundations or university endowments – to contact their fund managers and brokerage firms and demand transparency in their investments.
Kohanim added, “If your broker or fund representative is unwilling to share information about where your money is being invested, it’s time to look elsewhere.”
During the Trump (Trump) administration, many Chinese companies have been sanctioned by the U.S. for helping Beijing’s crackdown against Xinjiang, participating in the Communist Party’s military-civilian integration strategy, and militarizing the South China Sea, among other things.
Currently, 44 Chinese companies have been designated by the Pentagon as “Communist Chinese military companies,” including telecommunications giants China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. The 44 companies have more than 1,100 subsidiaries, according to a State Department briefing.
Last November, then-President Donald Trump issued an executive order barring U.S. investment in the 44 companies and their subsidiaries.
In addition to ordinary U.S. investors, companies and organizations with a strong voice have a responsibility, Krach said.
For example, Krach called on the Swiss-based World Economic Forum (WEF) to put the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution in Xinjiang on the agenda of its meetings.
Referring to the WEF, Krach said, “I can’t even find it on their website – their list of topics. I’ve been going there for 20 years.”
Beginning May 25, the World Economic Forum will hold its annual four-day special meeting in Singapore.
Krach also called on ESG investors (ESG is an acronym for Environmental, Social, Governance, which means environmental, social and corporate governance) to speak openly about persecution in Xinjiang. esg investors emphasize the importance of environmental, social and corporate governance in their investments. He also added that for corporate CEOs, they should ensure that their product supply chains are clean.
For business leaders, conflicts of interest can affect corporate responsibility, said Krach. Because many companies have large stakes in the Chinese market, they don’t want to upset the Chinese Communist authorities for fear of retaliation.
I don’t think anyone should give in to the Chinese Communist Party,” Krach said. We clearly have the moral high ground.”
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