<span class ="kicker">The Epoch Times exclusive article on Smith's new legislation</span>'House to Vote on Resolution Urging Trump to Confront Xi on China's Political Prisoners'

This press release from Representative Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) was published on 2026-05-11 and titled "<span class ="kicker">The Epoch Times exclusive article on Smith's new legislation</span>'House to Vote on R".

<span class ="kicker">The Epoch Times exclusive article on Smith's new legislation</span>'House to Vote on Resolution Urging Trump to Confront Xi on China's Political Prisoners'

By Eva Fu and Frank Fang Published May 11, 2026 The House of Representatives is set to vote on a resolution urging President Donald Trump to make the freedom of political prisoners in China a priority in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, including during this week’s summit in Beijing. H.Res.1259, introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, names five individuals that he said were “unfairly punished” by Beijing for exercising freedom of speech and religion. The vote is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, ahead of Trump’s two-day trip to China, The Epoch Times has learned. “Shamefully, the People’s Republic of China currently detains thousands of political and religious prisoners, which include American citizens and the family members of U.S. nationals,” Smith told The Epoch Times. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) (C) discusses the Chinese communist regime's system of forced organ harvesting, at a Heritage Foundation event in Washington on April 7, 2026. Irene Luo/The Epoch Times He said the resolution calls out the Chinese regime’s “abysmal record of human rights abuses and arbitrary detentions” and urges the U.S. president to raise these concerns at their upcoming meeting. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been waging a war against faith for more than 100 years, with successive Party leaders having launched repeated campaigns to regulate, suppress, and control religious groups in China. In March, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) again called on the U.S. government to designate China as a country of particular concern over the suppression, which one of the commissioners described as “across the board” and “systematic.” The five individuals mentioned in the resolution are Chinese pastors Jin Mingri and Gao Quanfu; Gao’s wife, Pang Yu; retired Uyghur medical doctor Dr. Gulshan Abbas; and Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai. Jimmy Lai outside West Kowloon Magistrates' Court in Hong Kong, on Sept. 18, 2020. Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times In May last year, Gao, pastor and founder of a house church called Light of Zion Church, was detained at his home and accused of “using superstitious activities to undermine the implementation of law,” according to the USCIRF. Two months later, his wife, Pang, another church leader, was also detained. The resolution noted that she has since been “denied access to critical prescription medication.” Their son, Gao Pu, confirmed the concerns to The Epoch Times. In two separate X posts on May 10, Gao Pu said the charges against his parents were false and described his mother’s detention—now in its 337th day—as “beyond inhumane” because of her heart conditions, low blood pressure, and severe anxiety. “My parents are peaceful Christians who have spent their lives serving others, preaching the Gospel, praying for our country, and helping believers across China. They never promoted violence, political extremism, or hatred. Their real ‘crime’ is refusing to place their faith and church completely under CCP control,” Gao Pu wrote. In October 2025, Jin, founder of another house church known as Zion Church, was detained at his home as part of a broader operation by Chinese authorities that also led to the detention of nearly 30 pastors and church members. Abbas has been imprisoned for nearly 3,000 days, and her detention is widely believed to be linked to her sister Rushan Abbas’s human rights advocacy activities in the United States. Rushan Abbas, executive director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, speaks during the China Forum at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington on Oct. 27, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times Lai, an outspoken critic of the CCP and founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison under Hong Kong’s national security law. More than 100 lawmakers from both parties expressed support for Lai’s freedom in a May 7 letter to Trump. Smith’s resolution also urges Trump to “seek verifiable proof of life and access to independent legal counsel, family communication, and medical care for such detainees.” In China, some political prisoners are held incommunicado, leaving their families without any information about their fate or even whether they are alive. One of the best-known examples is prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has been missing for more than eight years. A recent example of China restricting family access to political prisoners is Wang Youmei, a Falun Gong practitioner detained by police in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on April 15. Her daughter, Alisa Zhou, a U.S. citizen and accountant in Maryland, previously told The Epoch Times that the family has been unable to visit Wang while she is in custody. Falun Gong , also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice grounded in the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Introduced to the Chinese public in 1