大象传媒

The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill to counter what it calls the "arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment" of Uighur Muslims in China.

The bill calls for "targeted sanctions" on members of the Chinese government.

Roughly one million Uighurs are said to be in detention in the Xinjiang region of northwest China.

The Chinese foreign ministry has responded by urging the US to stop the bill from becoming a law.

Arslan Hidayat, a Uighur activist living outside of China told us why the move is so significant.

(Photo: An ethnic Uighur demonstrator wears a mask while attending a protest against China in Istanbul. Credit: Reuters)