“[B]y maintaining these listings, Airbnb is complicit in enriching an organization facilitating horrific human rights abuse and risks violating U.S. sanction law that prohibits such transactions from occurring,” reads the letter, sent to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky.
The owner of said rental properties is Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a regional paramilitary organization under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The organization exerts administrative authority in various cities, towns, and farms, where it “runs many of the notorious mass internment camps that serve as detention, torture, sterilization, and indoctrination facilities for Uyghurs and other ethnic groups” in the far west Xinjiang region, reads Rubio’s letter.
He also wrote that by allowing “these listings, Airbnb is implicitly endorsing and encouraging travel to Xinjiang, a region host to an ongoing genocide.”
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) campaign against Uyghurs in Xinjiang has been labeled genocide by human rights groups, as well as several nations. This includes both the former and current United States administrations, and the parliaments from Canada, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Belgium, Czech Republic, and the UK.
In addition to its repression in Xinjiang, the CCP has faced international condemnation over its extensive abuses from its clampdown in Hong Kong to its suppression of faith groups, including Tibetan Buddhists and Falun Gong practitioners.
In his letter, Rubio demanded consistency from Airbnb, which has previously stated its commitment to racial justice causes in the United States and participated in debates related to human rights issues in Israel’s West Bank.
Airbnb did not respond to a request for comment.