Next, look at human rights guss against muslim groups in northwest china. This Panel Includes a journalist who reported on the Chinese Governments establishment of reEducation Centers, targeting muslim my importants and a human rights activist. Welcome to the Hudson Institute, im nina shea, and i want to wish everyone happy holidays holidays and im also want to draw your attention to the crisis in china against the us uyghur population the. One of the worst relation rights and percent accuse situations of our day and age. It is a crisis of religious persecution and Human Rights Violations of epic proportions. And will be hearing more pout that through the session today. All people should be concerned for china as a rising power, aimed to make this a model, not only for other groups within its borders but is exporting this model. It is of deep concern to me as someone who monitors freedom around the world, and i know it is to you here in this room in the audience, and it is my deep privilege to introduce ambassador at large forll freedom of the u. S. State department, Sam Brownback. He is going to be giving our keynote address in just a moment. I have known ambassador brownback for 25 years, when he was in the senate and we were working together on other human rights crises, including sudan, which today is actually a source of hope in the world. So, im very pleased to see him now in this position as the religious freedom ambassador, someone who has been empowered under this administration and through congress and he is really the institutional face of religious freedom as a priority in u. S. Foreign policy. His ministerials he has organized and innovated have brought hundreds in fact thousands of people from all over he world who are deeply vested in religious freedom. These are survivors of religious persecution, advocates, world leaders, from across the globe. And please join me in welcoming Sam Brownback. [applause] thanks, nina. Pri thats right greatly. A measure to be pack at hudson. You find this interesting. More something than most. I was on the phone this morning with the Prime Minister of sudan. Which was not a normal thing for me, 2025 years ago when we were fighting the bashear regime and they were state sponsoring terrorism that the out experienced unfortunately first hand, but i think it does show that if you keep after an issue and youre on the right side you can win and you will win. And that im very hopeful. It is one of the sources and places of great hope in the world today. We hope things continue to move forward in the right direction. Also want to thank Hudson Institute for hosting the Vice President and the secretary of state mike pompeo at different times to speak here in hudson regarding china. I think those have been wonderful speeches. I looked at both of those, and i think they offer a template on issues of china and u. S. Policy towards china. This administration has been really the first in decades to take on china and the repressive regime, and have done absolutely, i think, brilliant, tough, good job in confronting china and i think its been important we do that. Im pleased to join that discussion now and its a key priority for this administration. The peoples republic of china, theyre Brutal Campaign of repegues against uyghurs, and other muslims in xinjiang. My thanked to Hudson Institute and the distinguished experts for keeping the conversation in washington going. This administration has recognized that its important to analyze and respond to these pusses from all angle, so i appreciate the discussion and the insights at todays events. Ive said it before and will keep saying it until one day its no longer true. China is at war with faith, but it is a war they will not win. In the meantime, while it continues, Chinese Government continues to engage in a high stakes game of subterfuge, attempting to cloak the truth about its true intentions and activities but we will not be fooled. The Chinese Government can refer to inhuman treatment as war on terror, as countering religious extremism. It can label its internment camps as socalled Vocational Training centers and claim that detainees have graduated, but the evidence is clear. Clearly this is not just a war on faith but a war on truth and international norms. And we know the facts. Earlier this year ambassador nathan sales and i co authored on oped state that they reexpensesive campaign in xinjiang is not cower terror counterterror jim, race a regime of oppression. Terrorism is a very real threat, including in the United States and in china, but conflating peaceful religious practices and identity with terrorism is beyond disengine us a. It is uncon shenable. And also unconscionable is imposing pervasive hightech surgicallance and monitoring thought the region. This unfortunately, i believe, is the future of what much oppression is going to look like. I think youre seeing the front wave of it in xinjiang. They also prevent muslims from doing their regular daily prayers or forcing them to consume pork and alcohol and shave boreds, preventing children from attending mosque or, destroying the Chinese Government is destroying mosques, cemetery and other religious and Cultural Heritage sites and, of course detaining more than 1 million members of Muslim Minority groups and intern immigrant internment camps since april of 201 and in our current world, 2019, a million muslim people in xinjiang nor internment camps. Almost unthinkable. But these are the abuses that the prc government is trying hide and denying. So i believe it was gamechanger when the xinjiang cables came to shes reports are constant with an overwhelming and growing body of evidence that the communicates touchdown yeas party is committing Human Rights Violations and abuses against individuals in mass detention and in these papers, you saw the brown and the thinking of the background and the thinking of it. The documents reveal that the c cp has orchestrated and this it nonrandom. Its intentional. Those who may have been inclined to believe the prc government or who were bully into believing it can read the documents and see the depth and breath of what is happening in xinjiang. If you know anything but china, you know that the prc governments campaign of repression is not unique to xinjiang. In part thats pause the ccp first installed the Regions Party secretary i want you to remember that name chen quan bo in dib pet where he had surveillance, cameras, police stations, databases, explosion security forces, life in tibet, including religious life was forever transportation formed. Considered a success. Tchen took his play book to xinjiang, amplifying his tactics on an unfathomable scale. This week the economist magazine note it the parallels between tibet and xinjiang and tchens role in replicating repression. My fear i think of the Hudson Institute as well that these sorts sorts of replications of repression will continue and increase around the world. They need to be stopped now. So the document strength what we now but the pusses and the administrations ongoing resolve is to respond to them. Importantly we continue to promote accountability for those who complete human rights abuses and the department of state has designated china as a country of particular concern under the International Religious freedom october of 1998 for enjalenning in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. Such religious Freedom Violations are hardly the only human rights abuse that the prc government is perpetrating perpn xinjiang and compels but when a country doesnt resuspect the life to freely practice ones faith and belief and everything that entails we often see other rights significantly emperilled. These include the freedom of association, assembly, speech, and the freedom of movement. And in addition to the country of particular concern designation that is specific to religious Freedom Violations, we have seen a multifalls setted u. S. Response multi facetted u. S. Response. At the president s global call for religious freedom event at the u. N. The first ever by a head of state to call for the topic of religious freedom at the u. N. General asemi. There was powerful from uyghurs and family members. I want to stop here. Note as well last week there was another testimonial in xinjiang on capitol hill and i ran into the young people from xinjiang who testified. Two of them told of family members convicted of seven to nine years and put in jail for them, the young are family member, out in speaking. So god bless to the poem people from xinjiang to speak out. Comes at significant cost to them personally and their family. A number of agencies have visa sanctions for the chinese officials, the department of commerce added 28 Chinese Governmental and commercial entities to its entity list which prevents them from a big u. S. Products or importing u. S. Technology that could be used to repress religious and ethnic nye motors. And the u. S. Customs and Border Patrol issued a withhold release order to ensure that producted made by a Chinese Company in xinjiang do not end up in american stores. We welcome the role that a growing number of International Actors play in calling out these abuses. We want to see more of this in the months ahead and will tone to encourage stakeholders to take up the mantel. A multilateral response is vital the dispute four other countries doe hosted a discussion on the margins of the unup General Assembly on the human rights crisis in xinjiang. More than 30 u. N. States attended and eu representatives and oic delegation and 20ndos and i it was standing room only. A remarkable turnout. Importantly several uyghur survivors shared their harrowing stories. They provide an eye witness testimony. This is factual testimony that they provide. This is no horning no longer allegations. These are eye witnesses. The United States is month 23 signatoriys on a joint statement delivered the u. N. Third committee in october. Im recalls working with a group to launch a priority announced at this years ministerial. Called the International Religious freedom alliance. The first ever International Body devoted to religious belief, bringing together countries. And this is the first new International HumanRights Organization in a generation. It focus just on the issue of International Religious freedom. We hope to have that stood up and launched the first part of next year im reach taught a number of done throughs to bring them onboard. As i close i want to humanize the repression in xinjiang and elsewhere in china. These are innocent civilians, peacefully practicing their faith also their conscious leads. Dreaming of prosperity and happiness for themselves and for their children. They do not need their way of thinking reprogrammed. They do not need their government controlling and monitoring every aspect of their lives. They need, they deserve fro. Freedom of religion to practice their faith peace any also they see fit. Thats what i and others in this administration are working towards. I want to say thank you g. O. P. The Hudson Institute for hosting this discussion and inviting me and for performly hosting the Vice President and the secretary of state to cuss human rights abuses in china. The expertise you bring to the discussion is tremendously helpful to this administration, continues to employ that we continue to employ a variety of tools as we call on peoples republic of china, the Chinese Communist party to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and to end it draconian policy that terrorize the ethnic and religious minority groups in xinjiang. He we will continue to push back on chinas. Thank you very much. God bless you all. [applause] thank you for fog their on this Panel Discussion of xinjiang discussion. We launched the program of seminars without xinjiang in earl 2017 to help challenge what can be best described as the u. S. post 9 11 political complacency over what the Chinese Communist party claims its it own war on terrorism in the vast northwestern territory of the prc empire known as shin ongoing. That u. S. Reapplies sal was needed and then has been long overdue. No are decree kids the uyghur people have suffered from oppression and discrimination in theyre home happen known as as made clear beijing would be ramping up the efforts to subjugate the uyghurs, and shin john has one transformed into the most heavily survived and oppressive garrison states than that the word has seen the communitiest party has dont to extraordinary lengths to suppress information and prop gab dies what is is is doing in xinjiang, bought id china in around the world and in the United States. Should say back in september of 2018, abbas who is here with us today, longtime leader human rights activist and an american citizen, spoke here on a penalty civics days later would of his family members in xinjiang, he aunt and sister, vanished. one of their whereabouts is still unknown. What we do know thinks to vital work of the panelis and countlesslies that have risk third arrived, over 10re of the population has want forced into mass internment camps for ideology reeducation. The war on uyghur fates the definition of defense make. The Chinese Communist rulers dismissed reports about the camps as fake news spreadly we were journalists and think tanks and instead tried and seeded at persuading a large part of the world, until now, that the camps are in fact Vocational Training centers which uyghurs volunteerly attend. Last month the league of classified party documents obtained by the International Consortium revealed the partys story about xinjiang like so much elves is a so much else is a live. The china cables exposed how the party has planned and implemented the Largest Scale persecution of a distinct ethnic religious group since the end of world war2. The papers provide us a glimpse into the partys blueprint for the destruction of a people. Here to discuss this is are the leading u. S. Based experts, im happy to welcome bethany with axios and when who reads thing but china knows her byline from axios, and also from the daily beast and foreign policy. Second, dr. Adrian zenz Whose Research has been key in acknowledging the existence of the camps and documenting the buildup of the prc police state. Third well hear from nury turkel, part of an organization he founded in 2003. Nury was born in a communist reeducation camp at the height of the cultural revolution. Important to keep that in mind. Of we hear from our suckers well have a q a period this afternoon well be conducting that a little differently today. All of are going to be receiving pieces of paper and pencils to please right on them concise questions and well collect them halfway through the panel this morning so we can address them when we have time for questions at the end. Thank you again. With that, we report start with bethany. Thank you to Hudson Institute for hosting yet another panel on if the important issue. I served as icis lead reporter for the china cable project alongside 75 journalists. Three months ago i was handed a stack of documents that looked like this. And said, here, you have two months. And when i first saw them i thought, this is very important. But the more i looked into them, the more i realized how truly groundbreaking and important they were. Will briefly talk but each set of documents and then go into the Key Takeaways from each one. So, first we have what we call a telegram or the operating manual for the camps. That was tis disseptember mated in disseptember many a set of classified intelligence briefings, known as bulletins that details the inside look at the operations of the integrated joint operations platform, mass Data Collection and Artificial Intelligence powered predictive policing platform that is behind much of the very advanced police state we see in xinjiang, and thirdly a uyghur Language Court document that shows the tragedy of what happens to one individual man who was sentenced to ten years in prison, simply for exextorting fellow muslims to not watch pornography and pray regularly. This the first anytime Chinese Governments own words an admission that the camps are not voluntary, but are in fact highly securitized prison centers. The first connection which talks but security, urges Camp Personnel to prevent escapes, to prevent abnormal deaths. Those two phrases and the instructions that are given to carry those out prove that the Chinese Communist governments speaking points about the camps are lies. It is not normal for boarding schools or