The U.S. government has qualified the Chinese Communist Party as having committed genocide in Xinjiang, and the U.K. has accelerated the process. The British Parliament has urged the government to reconsider its trade agreement with Beijing, and the Senate has passed an amendment to the Trade Bill that would require a preliminary court ruling on whether the Chinese Communist Party committed genocide. The House of Representatives will vote on the matter anew.
On Tuesday (Feb. 2), the House’s Trade Bill amendment returned to the Senate. The amendment requires the British government to consider the human rights situation, the existence of genocide, and environmental and welfare standards of the other party when signing trade agreements with other countries.
According to the official website of the British Parliament, senators voted to pass four amendments to the bill that day, with the provisions on human rights and genocide both passing with high votes.
One of the amendments requires the government to determine whether a partner signing a trade agreement has committed Crimes Against Humanity and whether the agreement violates British human rights. It passed by a vote of 327 to 229.
Another amendment allowed the Supreme Court to make a preliminary ruling to determine whether a government signatory to a trade agreement has committed genocide and to report back to Parliament. The clause was approved by a large margin, 359 to 188.
The Guardian (UK) reports that after passing the Senate, the amendment will return to the House for another vote next week. Some of the controversial bills will need to be amended and voted on repeatedly in both chambers before they can be reconciled to produce a common version.
Last month, when the House voted on amendments to the Trade Act, the relevant provisions were passed, but the vote margin was not very large. It is expected that after this Senate vote, the House will face a close vote.
If the House passes again, the Supreme Court will review whether the Chinese Communist Party is guilty of genocide, and the British government may have to review its trade agreements with Beijing and whether to sign future free trade agreements with Beijing. Some senior government officials strongly oppose the provision.
The U.S. Trump administration has already characterized the Chinese Communist Party as having committed genocide in Xinjiang before it left office. British Conservative lawmakers are also increasingly concerned about the brutal Chinese repression in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and have urged the government to take a tougher stance. Some MPs have proposed an amendment to the Trade Bill on the crime of genocide, which was intended to try to restrict the government’s trade cooperation with the CCP, which has committed serious human rights abuses.
However, some government ministers have been working to block the amendment. They say the judges do not want to play such a role, which could also weaken the separation of powers, and that their ruling could cause diplomatic difficulties.
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