STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman MICHAEL INGANAMORT
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Condemns People's Republic of China's treatment of Uyghurs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Assembly Resolution condemning the People's Republic of China's treatment of the Uyghur ethnic group.
Whereas, The Uyghur ethnic group is one of the more than 50 recognized ethnic minorities living within the People's Republic of China; and
Whereas, There are an estimated 12 million Uyghurs, who are predominantly Muslim, residing in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a desert region located in western China; and
Whereas, The Uyghurs are a hard-working and peaceful people, renowned for cultivating approximately one fifth of the world's cotton; and
Whereas, Since 2017, the People's Republic of China has required that all religions in the country orient away from traditional values and towards subservience to the state; and
Whereas, Many Uyghurs have faithfully retained their traditional Islamic religion despite this restriction; and
Whereas, The People's Republic of China has reportedly responded to this Uyghur faithfulness with increasingly repressive mistreatment of the Uyghurs, including the internment of more than one million Uyghurs in concentration camps; and
Whereas, Article I, Section III of the New Jersey Constitution enshrines the principle that "No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience;" and
Whereas, The State of New Jersey is a bastion of ethnic and religious diversity and inclusivity; and
Whereas, It is altogether fitting and proper for this House, and in the public interest, to condemn the People's Republic of China's treatment of Uyghurs; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The General Assembly of the State of New Jersey condemns the People's Republic of China's treatment of the Uyghur ethnic group.
2. The Clerk of the General Assembly shall transmit copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, to the United States Secretary of State, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the United States and the Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations.
STATEMENT
This Assembly Resolution condemns the People's Republic of China's treatment of the Uyghur ethnic group. The People's Republic of China is reportedly repressing, mistreating, and interning over one million Uyghurs because the Uyghur ethnic group is predominately Muslim. This Assembly Resolution demonstrates the General Assembly's commitment to freedom and popular self-determination both at home and around the world.