Congressman Chris Smith Sanctioned By Chinese Government

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — This week, local Congressman Chris Smith was one of three U.S. lawmakers and a U.S. ambassador who were sanctioned by the Chinese government. It is due to his advocacy of the Uyghur people, a Muslim minority group that has faced oppression by the Chinese government.

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz and Ambassador for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback were also sanctioned this week.

Smith, a Republican, NJ -4, said he was sanctioned because he wrote the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which holds Chinese President Xi Jinping directly responsible for the genocide against the Uyghurs.

According to the Associated Press, “China said Monday it will impose sanctions on three U.S. lawmakers and one ambassador in response to similar actions taken by the U.S. last week against Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses against Muslims in the Xinjiang region."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said moves by Smith, Cruz and Rubio had “seriously damaged China-U.S. relations” and that China was determined to uphold its national sovereignty against what it sees as interference in its internal affairs.”

Rep. Smith also made remarks on the House floor about China's alleged human rights abuses against the Uyghur people.

On May 27, Smith said “Communist party general secretary Xi Jinping’s ongoing genocide against the approximately 10 million Uyghurs living in Xinjiang in northwestern China demands action. Today, more than a million Uyghurs are in concentration camps. Millions more are harassed, beaten, raped and tortured — and forced abortion and coercive sterilizations are commonplace.”

Smith said that when COVID-19 abates, he is planning a trip to Hong Kong, Beijing and to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.

In 2006, he said his work computers were hacked by the Chinese government.

"According to U.S. House tech experts, they took what was on my computer as well as my human rights committee computers," said Smith this week in a statement. "Two weeks ago, I was briefed by the FBI that the threat was real and the Chinese Communist Party's action could take many forms, from bribes to social media disinformation and worse and for starters — visa denial — to today's sanction."

In mid-May, the Chinese government through its state-run newspaper, the Global Times had threatened Smith with "pain" for authoring the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act.

Smith represents New Jersey's fourth congressional district, which covers nearly all of Monmouth County, including towns such as Holmdel, part of Middletown, Colts Neck, Rumson, Manalapan, Freehold, Red Bank and Wall Township. The fourth district also reaches into Jackson and Lakewood in Ocean County and Hamilton and Robbinsville in Mercer County.