US Department of Homeland Security Adds Three Chinese Entities to Forced Labor List

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken a significant step in combating forced labor in China by adding three Chinese entities to its list of companies suspected of relying on the forced labor of China’s Uyghur ethnic minority. This move comes after Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in 2021, which aims to prevent U.S. imports of goods produced using forced Uyghur labor.

Under the UFPLA, the DHS maintains an entity list to track foreign business entities that violate the forced labor provisions. On Tuesday, the DHS announced that it had added Dongguan Oasis Shoes Co., Ltd, Shandong Meijia Group Co., Ltd., and Xinjiang Shenhuo Coal and Electricity Co., Ltd. to this list. The UFPLA establishes a presumption that any goods produced in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), or sold by a business on the entity list, were prepared using forced labor. These products are banned from importation into the United States unless the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner determines, by a “clear and convincing” standard of evidence, that they were not produced with forced labor.

According to the DHS, Dongguan Oasis Shoes has partnered with the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) to recruit individuals from persecuted groups, including Uyghurs, to work at the shoemaker’s factory in Guangdong province. The XPCC is a paramilitary organization affiliated with the Chinese state that has faced sanctions from the Trump administration for its alleged involvement in the mass detention and abuse of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

Similarly, the DHS alleges that Shandong Meijia Group, a food processing company based in Shandong province, has partnered with the Chinese government’s XUAR administration in labor transfer programs that relocate Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities from Xinjiang to work at locations in Shandong. Xinjiang Shenhuo Coal and Electricity, an XUAR-based producer of aluminum and graphite, is also accused of participating in Chinese government-sponsored labor transfer programs.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas emphasizes the agency’s commitment to eliminating forced labor in U.S. supply chains and holding responsible entities accountable. He urges stakeholders across industries, civil society, and international partners to collaborate in eradicating forced labor.

These recent additions bring the total number of Chinese business entities on the UFPLA entity list to dozens. The DHS reports that the list has grown by 240 percent in the past year, reflecting their strong commitment to enforcement.

In response to these allegations, the Chinese government has denied engaging in abusive labor practices targeting Uyghurs and other ethnic minority populations. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the UFPLA, stating that it “maliciously denigrates the human rights situation in China’s Xinjiang in disregard of facts and truth.”

While the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. did not respond to NTD News’ request for comment on the recent actions targeting Dongguan Oasis Shoes, Shandong Meijia Group, and Xinjiang Shenhuo Coal and Electricity, it is clear that the U.S. government is taking a strong stance against forced labor and urging international cooperation in addressing this issue. By adding these entities to the UFPLA entity list, the DHS is sending a powerful message that it will not tolerate forced labor in U.S. supply chains and will continue to investigate and hold accountable those involved in these practices.