CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 6:00 PM ET
Sabrina Sohail: sabrina@campaignforuyghurs.org
(650) 703-4523
https://www.campaignforuyghurs.org
Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) condemns the alarming revelation that millions of federal employees can invest in Chinese companies sanctioned by the U.S. government via its flagship retirement plan. These companies, labeled as a clear danger to national security and accused of profiting from Uyghur forced labor and the Uyghur genocide, must not receive a single cent from the hard-earned savings of federal employees.
In a damning analysis conducted by Washington D.C.-based consulting firm Kilo Alpha Strategies, using data from the Coalition for a Prosperous America, CFU has learned that the federal government’s employee retirement plan, boasting a staggering $720 billion in assets, offers its 6.8 million members the option to invest in mutual funds containing holdings in Chinese companies sanctioned or on watch lists maintained by at least nine U.S. government agencies. These companies include key players in the defense, aerospace, solar energy, and surveillance sectors.
Executive Director Rushan Abbas said “The federal government’s allowance of federal employees’ retirement funds to support companies involved in flagrant human rights abuses and posing severe threats to national security is a disgrace. We demand immediate and decisive action from the U.S. government to ensure that its own sanctions against these abhorrent companies are strictly enforced. Federal retirement plans must not provide a platform for investment in entities complicit in gross violations of human rights.”
Investment opportunities to Chinese companies are being made available through the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) run by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) which raises the alarming lack of coordination among government agencies regarding multiple U.S. sanctions lists. It is imperative that federal employees’ retirement savings are not tainted by complicity in supporting an authoritarian regime and perpetuating the suffering of innocent individuals.
CFU calls upon the U.S. government to take urgent and tangible steps to address this egregious violation. We demand a thorough review of the federal retirement plan, accompanied by strict measures to ensure that investments are completely free from any association with companies implicated in the Uyghur genocide, Uyghur forced labor and national security risks.
