Hilton Faces US Political Backlash Over Participation in Xinjiang Hotel Project in China

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] As the global hotel chain Hilton is reported to be participating in a hotel project in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, the U.S. political establishment from both parties has voiced unified opposition to this.

On the 29th (local time), according to major foreign media, the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) urged Hilton Worldwide not to participate in the hotel construction project on the site where Chinese authorities demolished an Islamic mosque in 2018.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Jim McGovern, members of the CECC, sent a letter to Hilton Worldwide’s CEO the day before expressing concerns about the construction of a Hampton by Hilton hotel currently underway in Hotan County, Xinjiang.

In the letter, the two lawmakers pointed out, "This site is an area where the Chinese government has made official efforts to extensively destroy Uygur religious and cultural heritage sites and eradicate the religious and cultural practices of the Uygur people in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region."

In addition to the two lawmakers, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Jim Smith, who have consistently criticized China’s human rights issues, also signed the letter.

They emphasized in the letter, "The destruction of religious and cultural heritage sites in the Uygur region contributed to the U.S. government’s determination that genocide and crimes against humanity are being committed against Muslims in Xinjiang."

They added, "Hilton’s name should not be used to perpetuate and promote the cultural oppression and erasure of millions of Uygurs living in the Xinjiang region."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy group in the U.S., announced this week that it has requested details about the hotel construction plan from Hilton shareholders, following the disclosure of the plan by the British Daily Telegraph in June.

The controversial hotel project reportedly began after the Chinese real estate developer Huanfeng Hotel Management purchased the site through a public auction.

Huanfeng Hotel Management stated, "We will fully comply with all local laws and regulations, as well as Hilton brand development standards."

Meanwhile, according to CECC investigations, Xinjiang authorities have demolished or damaged more than half of approximately 16,000 religious heritage sites, including mosques, shrines, and cemeteries, in the Xinjiang region over the past few years.