Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) debates on the House floor in support of his H.Res.1259, "Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Jimmy Lai detained by the People's Republic of China during future engagements with Chinese President Xi Jinping."

                Today, by a margin of 414-0, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)’s resolution, H.Res.1259, which urges President Trump to highlight the cases and call for the release of political prisoners in the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—including Pastor Jin Mingri; Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, Pang Yu; Dr. Gulshan Abbas; and Jimmy Lai—during his upcoming meeting with General Secretary Xi Jinping in Beijing. During the floor debate on the legislation, Smith delivered the following remarks:

                Mr. Speaker, I—like many in the House and Senate—thank President Trump for requesting that Xi Jinping release Jimmy Lai and other women and men who are gravely sick.

                Hundreds of innocent Americans languish in Chinese prisons today, including Nelson Wells of New Orleans and Dawn Michelle Hunt from Chicago. At a hearing I chaired in September 2024, “Bringing Home Americans Detained in China,” we heard heartbreaking stories from their families and loved ones. I’ve introduced legislation (HR 5491) to create a comprehensive strategy to obtain their release. According to the Foley Foundaton, more United States nationals are wrongfully detained in China than in any other country.                                                                                                                               
                This resolution is also about Pastor Ezra Jin, founder of Zion Church, detained and denied needed medical care. It is about Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, detained for peaceful religious leadership. It is about Dr. Gulshan Abbas, serving a 20-year sentence because her sister, Rushan Abbas, dared to tell Congress the truth about the CCP’s genocide against Uyghurs. The CCP imprisoned one sister to silence another. That is hostage-taking, plain and simple.

                And this resolution is about Jimmy Lai, the courageous founder of Apple Daily, imprisoned because he defended freedom of the press, democracy, and the rule of law in Hong Kong. His son, Sebastien Lai, testified in 2023 at a hearing I chaired in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China that his father is “still speaking truth to power and refusing to be silenced,” even though “he may die in prison.” That testimony should haunt us—and move us to action. Jimmy Lai should not spend one more night in a Hong Kong prison.

                Like Sebastian, Jimmy Lai’s daughter, Claire, has bravely and tenaciously and prayerfully advocated for her dad’s release. Claire told the AP last December that her dad “just wants to reunite with his family. He wants to dedicate his life to serving our Lord, and he wants to dedicate the rest of his days to his family.” Claire and Sebastian’s love for their father is inspiring beyond words.

                For decades, the United States has seen that naming prisoners works. It can improve prison conditions. It can secure access to lawyers, family, and medical care. It can save lives. And yes, it can lead to releases—especially when it is done by the President.

                That matters. It matters to their families. It matters to every prisoner of conscience languishing in a cell because he or she dared to pray, publish, speak, worship, or advocate for fundamental freedoms. And it matters to the Chinese Communist Party, because autocrats listen when the President of the United States names names.

                But silence does the opposite. Silence tells the jailer no one is watching. Silence tells the prisoner the world has moved on. Silence tells Beijing that hostage diplomacy, coercive exit bans, and transnational repression can be normalized. We must not normalize it.

                Senator Rick Scott and I led a letter last week, signed by over 100 Congressional colleagues, asking the President to continue pressing for Jimmy Lai’s release. We said, in pertinent part:

“The humanitarian case for Mr. Lai’s freedom is urgent and undeniable. He is a devout Catholic and successful entrepreneur who has already spent five years in detention, much of it in solitary confinement. His health has declined in custody, and prolonged isolation and inadequate prison conditions only increase the risk of permanent harm.

“Mr. Lai’s family is understandably anxious about his deteriorating health condition. His family, his friends, and supporters, have indicated that if he is released, he will leave Hong Kong and withdraw from public life. It is a clear, practical path forward that reunites a family and prevents this case from becoming an irreversible tragedy—and an enduring symbol of repression that will echo far beyond Hong Kong.

“Mr. President, we greatly appreciated that you have discussed this case personally with Xi Jinping in the past, and in light of the urgent health concerns, we urge you to do so again.

“Now is a key time to re-emphasize the case, not only given Mr. Lai's age and health, but also because this will be the first time you are meeting with Xi Jinping since the Hong Kong legal proceedings against Mr. Lai came to an end...”

                This resolution reaffirms America’s commitment to defending political and religious freedom and advocating for those unjustly detained for exercising fundamental freedoms.

                Mr. Speaker, this is not a partisan issue. It is a matter of American leadership, American credibility, and American security. When the CCP threatens families in the United States to silence advocacy here at home, that is not just repression over there—it is intimidation aimed at us. Today, the House should speak with moral clarity and strategic purpose.

                Name the prisoners. Confront the hostage-taking. Make clear that America will not be silent while the Chinese Communist Party imprisons the innocent and reaches across borders to threaten their families.

###