{"id":1043324,"date":"2021-11-22T09:14:16","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T14:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1043324"},"modified":"2021-11-22T09:14:22","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T14:14:22","slug":"john-kerry-softens-u-s-stance-on-uyghur-slave-labor-from-which-he-financially-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/john-kerry-softens-u-s-stance-on-uyghur-slave-labor-from-which-he-financially-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"John Kerry Softens U.S. Stance on Uyghur Slave Labor from Which He Financially Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjohn-kerry-softens-u-s-stance-on-uyghur-slave-labor-from-which-he-financially-benefits%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1043324&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">Biden administration climate czar John Kerry is drawing scrutiny from Republicans for downplaying and trying to derail legislation against China\u2019s use of Uyghur forced labor, from which Kerry and his wife seem to benefit financially.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration is officially against China\u2019s use of forced labor from its Uyghur minority population, which Chinese companies are suspected of using in the manufacturing of solar panel parts. President Joe Biden as a candidate and president has called China\u2019s treatment of the Uyghurs a \u201cgenocide\u201d and compared it to the Holocaust.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>However, when a reporter asked Kerry at the recent COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference how he has addressed with Chinese officials the issue of Uyghur slave labor being used to build solar panels in China, he <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/11\/john-kerry-china-human-rights-violations-not-my-lane\/\">responded<\/a>, \u201cThat\u2019s not my lane here. \u2026 My job is to be the climate guy, and stay focused on trying to move the climate agenda forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17803586\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AP_21245466414147.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17803586\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AP_21245466414147.png\" alt=\"In this photo provided by the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry attends a meeting with Yang Jiechi, Director of China&#039;s Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs via video link in Tianjin, China, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (U.S. Department of State via AP)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Department of State via AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The comment raised eyebrows in Washington, given Kerry\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-china-29339178\">past role<\/a> of promoting human rights as secretary of state during the Obama administration and given the administration\u2019s official stance.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_9391372\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-545508856.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9391372\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-545508856.jpg\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Sean Gallup\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe keeps saying basically, \u2018I\u2019m the climate guy, don\u2019t look at me,\u2019&nbsp;which is just so embarrassing and shameful on this issue,\u201d former Trump administration official Amanda Rothschild said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHe keeps comparing himself to President Reagan negotiating on intermediate-range missiles with the Soviet Union \u2026 but the historical analogy just doesn\u2019t make any sense,\u201d she added. \u201cIf anyone, I think of Ambassador Joseph Kennedy in the United Kingdom thinking we could negotiate with the Germans, which was a major diplomatic embarrassment for the United States, just like this is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republicans say Kerry has also been lobbying against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/house-bill\/1155\/text\">bipartisan legislation<\/a> that would ban the import of any Chinese goods made with Uyghur slave labor from entering the United States, including solar panels.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who introduced the legislation in the Senate, wrote in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/sen-marco-rubio-fire-john-kerry-biden-climate-czar\">op-ed<\/a> last month, \u201cKerry has been working against my legislation, and has convinced President Joe Biden to stay silent on the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019ve heard from various folks is that the administration does not want it to pass because it makes things much more difficult to meet their climate objectives,\u201d a senior Senate aide told Breitbart News.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose companies have to prove there\u2019s no slave labor in their supply chain, it\u2019s a very difficult thing to do, the solar industry in particular. So we\u2019ve heard that John Kerry is forcefully behind that and potentially some others.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>The Uyghur Forced Labor Act would go further than steps the Biden administration took during the summer to sanction some Chinese companies and entities accused of using Uyghur slave labor.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18811842\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Uyghur-forced-labor-ap.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18811842\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Uyghur-forced-labor-ap.jpg\" alt=\"A worker watches as a machine processes cotton yarn at a Huafu Fashion plant, as seen during a government organized trip for foreign journalists, in Aksu in western China&#039;s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tuesday, April 20, 2021. A backlash against reports of forced labor and other abuses of the largely Muslim Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang is taking a toll on China&#039;s cotton industry, but it&#039;s unclear if the pressure will compel the government or companies to change their ways. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The legislation&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/senate-bill\/65\">easily passed in the Senate<\/a>&nbsp;on a bipartisan voice vote in July but has been held up in the House under the alleged pressure from Kerry.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>On Thursday morning, Rubio\u2019s chief of staff blasted the Biden administration for trying to stymie the legislation in the House.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe administration you work for is needlessly slowing down the adoption of Marco\u2019s bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which passed the Senate unanimously. Get off your high horse,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"9.3582089552239\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The administration you work for is needlessly slowing down the adoption of Marco&#8217;s bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which passed the Senate unanimously. Get off your high horse. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tgWD4wqEZN\">https:\/\/t.co\/tgWD4wqEZN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael Needham (@MikeNeedham) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MikeNeedham\/status\/1461361467949662219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 18, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Although Kerry has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/now\/john-kerry-echoes-china-argument-212800756.html\">argued<\/a> that sanctioning Chinese companies manufacturing solar panels would affect getting Chinese cooperation on climate change, it appears he&nbsp;may have a financial interest in the matter as well.<\/p>\n<p>According to Kerry\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/20694598-john-kerry-financial-disclosure\">financial disclosure<\/a> submitted in February, he and his wife have $1,000,000 invested in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/10\/25\/report-john-kerry-holds-equity-in-fund-linked-to-uyghur-labor-abuse\/\">Hillhouse China Value Fund L.P.<\/a>, which is part of the Hillhouse investment group that is a top shareholder in a Chinese solar panel company that works with companies known to be using&nbsp;forced labor. Indeed, it was on that basis that in early November, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol temporarily detained imports from the solar panel company, LONGi Green Energy.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3323481\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/zero.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3323481\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/zero.png\" alt=\"A member of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) walks under the solar panels at the roof deck of a mall in Manila on November 24, 2014. The 5,760 solar panels have been installed on the roof deck of the multi-level carpark of SM City mall.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">NOEL CELIS\/AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Although Kerry divested from many of his&nbsp;energy-related holdings in&nbsp;March, the divestments did not include Hillhouse,&nbsp;according to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/customs-and-border-protection-seizes-imports-from-chinese-company-backed-by-kerry-investments\/\">The Washington Free Beacon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Hillhouse is run by Zhang Lei, an adviser to the Chinese government. It owns a six percent stake in LONGi and is also the top shareholder of YITU Technology, a company blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Commerce for allegedly aiding the Chinese Communist government\u2019s surveillance of Uyghurs, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/customs-and-border-protection-seizes-imports-from-chinese-company-backed-by-kerry-investments\/\">WFB<\/a>.&nbsp;Kerry\u2019s stake is through a trust in which his wife is the beneficiary. He stated in his disclosure that they are not involved in managing the investments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJohn Kerry\u2019s financial entanglements are real, and his dismissal of Uyghur slave labor is shocking,\u201d said Peter Schweizer, Breitbart News senior contributor and author of&nbsp;<i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"><a class=\"c-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2018\/03\/21\/5-secret-empires-bombshell-revelations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2018\/03\/21\/5-secret-empires-bombshell-revelations\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" data-remove-tab-index=\"true\">Secret Empires<\/a>,<\/i>&nbsp;which revealed that the firm belonging to Hunter Biden, Joe Biden\u2019s son, signed a billion-dollar deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government\u2019s Bank of China just ten days after the then-vice president and his son flew to China on Air Force Two in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s pretty clear that the Biden Administration is going to give Beijing a free pass on human rights in the name of a climate change agreement with China that can\u2019t and won\u2019t be enforced,\u201d Schweizer said.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) sent a letter to Biden in late September&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rubio.senate.gov\/public\/index.cfm\/2021\/9\/rubio-and-smith-to-potus-don-t-sacrifice-human-rights-for-the-sake-of-a-climate-deal-with-beijing\">that expressed their concern that Kerry<\/a> is \u201cdownplaying the genocide precisely because he intends to import solar panels that are produced using forced labor in the PRC to the United States in order to meet your administration\u2019s climate goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rubio said in a statement to Breitbart News:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"8\">\n<p>President Biden is relying on a genocidal regime that hates America to meet his climate goals. Instead of supporting slave labor, the Biden Administration should focus on building up domestic production to create good jobs in America.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A senior administration official recently&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/speeches-remarks\/2021\/11\/15\/background-press-call-by-senior-administration-officials-on-president-bidens-virtual-meeting-with-president-xi-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china\/\">dismissed<\/a>&nbsp;any tension between pressing China on Uyghur slave labor and seeking cooperation on climate change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe certainly believe that we can do both: that we can address the climate crisis at the same time that we stand up very clearly and press for \u2014 you know, press to ensure that we are addressing forced labor in Xinjiang and elsewhere,\u201d the official said November 14 during a background press briefing.<\/p>\n<p>And the Pentagon recently seemed to downplay the security threat from China, putting it on par with the threat from climate change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth are equally-important,\u201d Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said November 10 when asked at a press briefing which was the bigger threat.<\/p>\n<p>Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) \u2014 a longtime critic of China but a top Biden ally \u2014 has changed her tone on China.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Pelosi spoke in favor of the legislation when it was introduced, saying, \u201cBeijing\u2019s barbarous actions targeting the Uyghur people continue to be an outrage to the collective conscience of the world. \u2026 We must shine a light on the inhumane practice of forced labor, hold the perpetrators accountable and stop this exploitation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, this September, she downplayed the issue. She said, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/09\/23\/john-kerry-says-climate-change-is-priority-with-china\/\"><em>New York Post<\/em><\/a><em>:<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"21\">\n<p>With their military aggression in the South China Sea, with their continuation of genocide with the Uyghurs in Xinjiang province, with their violation of the cultural\u2026religious minority of Tibet, with their suppression of democracy in Hong Kong and other parts of China as well \u2014 they\u2019re just getting worse in terms of suppression.<\/p>\n<p>Having said all of that\u2026we have to work together on climate. Climate is an overriding issue and China is the leading emitter in the world, U.S. too, developed world too, but we must work together. We have to have a level of communication, whether it\u2019s COVID, whether it\u2019s terrorism or whether it\u2019s climate.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Rothschild also pointed to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2021\/11\/state-department-suddenly-uneasy-using-the-term-malign-influence-to-call-out-china\/\">recent <em>National Review<\/em> report<\/a> that said the State Department was self-censoring to appease the Chinese Communist Party, avoiding using the term \u201cmalign\u201d to refer to China ostensibly to prevent anti-Asian American sentiment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s shocking that they would self-censor in what is really just a factual statement about the kinds of threats that are emanating from China,\u201d she said.&nbsp;\u201cIt\u2019s almost like they\u2019re just playing into the hands of some of the Chinese propaganda on this issue in terms of saying that it might cause anti-Asian sentiment to talk about the actions of the Chinese government truthfully and honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd it really is jarring in contrast to their tepid stance on a genocide and real serious human rights abuses people are enduring in Xinjiang. It doesn\u2019t make much sense,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/china\/xinjiang\/\">U.S. government<\/a>&nbsp;estimates that since April 2017, the Chinese government has detained <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-china-22278037\">more than a million<\/a> Uyghurs and members of other minority groups in internment camps or converted detention facilities in China\u2019s northwestern province of Xinjiang, and as many as 1.6 million are subjected to forced labor. Beijing has also subjected Uyghurs to&nbsp;forced disappearance; political indoctrination; torture; physical and psychological abuse, including forced sterilization and sexual abuse; and prolonged detention without trial.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese companies have flocked to Xinjiang to produce a key solar panel ingredient, polysilicon, using cheap coal-fired electricity. There, Chinese companies produce almost half the world\u2019s solar-grade polysilicon used in solar panels sold in the U.S. and other markets, according to the <em>Washington Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Breitbart News\u2019s Kristina Wong on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/kristina_wong\">Twitter<\/a>&nbsp;or on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kristinawongreporting\">Facebook<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biden administration climate czar John Kerry is drawing scrutiny from Republicans for downplaying and trying to derail legislation against China\u2019s use of Uyghur forced labor, from which Kerry and his &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1043324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1043324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1043324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1043324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1043324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}