US Congress Briefing Highlights China’s Repression in East Turkistan, Tibet, and Southern Mongolia
Washington, July 22 : A US Congressional Briefing held on Monday marked Captive Nations Week 2025 by highlighting China’s repression of ethnic groups in East Turkistan, Tibet, and Southern Mongolia. The event took place at the Rayburn House Office Building and included national security experts, human rights advocates, and Congressional staff.
Key concerns raised included China’s use of surveillance, mass detentions, and cultural erasure. Turkey’s cooperation with Chinese intelligence in suppressing the East Turkistan independence movement was also discussed.
Salih Hudayar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security for the East Turkistan Government in Exile, said East Turkistan remains under Chinese occupation despite being listed as a “captive nation” in the 1959 US Captive Nations Resolution.
He described what he called an ongoing genocide: “Millions are held in camps and prisons. Up to 50,000 Uyghur and Turkic youth are killed each year, and their organs sold.”
Hudayar urged US lawmakers to formally recognize East Turkistan as an occupied nation, hold hearings, and investigate Chinese transnational repression within the Uyghur diaspora.
Tenzin Wangdue, from the Tibetan Rangzen independence movement, rejected claims that Tibet is part of China. “Tibet has had its own government and culture for over a thousand years. The 1951 Chinese occupation was an invasion, not a liberation,” he said. He called for real action, not just statements, to support Tibet’s independence.
Se Hoon Kim, a Korean-American journalist, spoke for Southern Mongolia. He said the Chinese government has worked for decades to erase Mongolian identity by suppressing language, culture, and traditional life. “This is not just a crackdown—it’s forced assimilation,” he warned.
Major Ben Loswen (Retd.), a former U.S. Army attaché in Beijing, said the CCP’s global influence is growing. He urged the U.S. to treat East Turkistan’s cause seriously, including setting up a dedicated office to counter CCP political warfare.
The event ended with a joint statement from all the groups demanding full independence and sovereignty for all “captive nations”, promising continued efforts until freedom is achieved.
