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Exclusive VOA interview with Rep. Smith'"Let him go": Congressman Chris Smith gave an exclusive interview to VOA, hoping that President Trump would ask Xi Jinping to release Jimmy Lai in person'

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By Yihua Lee
Published April 3, 2026

Capitol Hill — As the leaders of the United States and China are expected to meet in mid-May, a Republican congressman in the U.S. Congress who has long been concerned about human rights issues said that U.S.-China relations should be based on truth and the defense of human rights. The veteran Republican also called on President Donald Trump to mention the case of Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai during the talks and asked for Jimmy Lai's medical parole.

Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey recently said in an exclusive interview with VOA on Capitol Hill that he hopes human rights issues will become one of the core agendas of the U.S.-China summit. He revealed that he had communicated "extensively" with the executive branch about the importance of Jimmy Lai's case, hoping to ensure that Jimmy Lai's release was a top issue.

Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Smith was interviewed by Voice of America on Capitol Hill. (March 27, 2026)

"We sincerely hope that during the face-to-face meeting, the president will look Xi Jinping in the eye and say, 'Let this man go,'" Rep. Smith, who co-chairs the China Committee on Congress and Executive Authorities (CECC), told VOA on March 27.

He continued: "What does it bring you to imprison such an extremely kind, compassionate, and elderly elder? Frankly, such cruelty to others will only make Xi Jinping and the Communist Party feel ashamed. Let him go. I hope you can learn from the Liu Xiaobo incident. At that time, after Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize, you made him torture in prison, neither allowing him to be released from prison to receive the award, nor allowing his wife to attend on his behalf; As a result, he died of illness without receiving the necessary treatment. To this day, I am still shocked by this. This reflects their humanity. Perhaps they think it doesn't matter. But frankly, since ancient times, anyone who abuses their own people has a bad historical reputation. If they really want to leave any valuable legacy, they must start showing compassion, and they can start by showing compassion for Jimmy Lai.”

Smith mentioned that current Secretary of State Marco Rubio worked alongside him at the CECC when he was a senator in Congress, pushing for bills and speaking out on human rights issues in China. Smith said he believes Rubio will properly include Jimmy Lai's related issues on the agenda at the next US-China summit.

"Jimmy Lai is a hero. He deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, maybe he will. He speaks the truth to those in power. He did so with compassion and without hostility, even towards those who imprisoned him," Smith told VOA.

"What he (Jimmy Lai) does is good. He could have fled Hong Kong when the general trend was gone, and seeing Hong Kong unfortunately go in the wrong direction. But he chose to stay. He stayed with Apple Daily, he stayed with his reporters and, above all, with the people. Because he insisted, and I think his argument is very convincing, that everyone deserves to enjoy basic human rights, and that the Basic Law provides for the protection of basic human rights. However, this guarantee has now been torn apart by Xi Jinping. They also had the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which also guaranteed basic human rights, freedoms and democracy. Unfortunately, all of this has now been overturned by Xi Jinping. But Jimmy Lai is an amazing person. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He is 78 years old; If he is released in the future, he will be 98 years old, if he can live to that time. His physical condition is very bad now. Therefore, we call on Xi Jinping and the Hong Kong authorities to grant him parole based on humanitarian considerations. I mean, at the very least, the Government should at least grant the release of such a person who has not committed any crime, on the basis of his extremely critical health.”

Jimmy Lai, the founder of Hong Kong's "Apple Daily", was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on February 9 on charges involving the National Security Law, including "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces". The 78-year-old pro-democracy media mogul was already serving a prison sentence in December 2020 for fraud charges alleged by authorities and has now been in custody for more than five years.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio later issued a statement saying the verdict was "unjust" and called on the authorities to give Jimmy Lai "humanitarian parole." Members of both parties in the U.S. Congress have also expressed strong concern about Jimmy Lai's sentencing.

Rep. Jim McGovern, a senior member of the CECC Democratic Party, said after the 20-year prison sentence was released, "The sentence of 78-year-old Jimmy Lai to a substantial life sentence is simply ridiculous." He is a principled defender of press freedom – and the Hong Kong authorities have kept him in prison for so long. Jimmy Lai should be released on humanitarian grounds, and U.S. officials should continue to urge Hong Kong authorities to release him.”

After Jimmy Lai's resentencing, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that Jimmy Lai's case was important to President Trump.

"I have heard the president publicly and privately call for this. I had the privilege of attending the meeting between President Trump and President Xi in South Korea, and the President himself mentioned it. This is important for the president," Levitt said at a press conference on February 10.

In December, after Jimmy Lai's conviction, President Trump confirmed that he had urged Jimmy Lai's release during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last October. Trump said: "He is old and not in good health. I did make a request, we'll see.”

The White House said President Trump will visit China on May 14 and 15 and will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Trump's planned visit to China is the first visit by a U.S. president to China in nearly a decade. President Trump posted on social media that he was looking forward to spending time with Mr. Xi Jinping and expected it to be a "landmark" visit.

The White House also said that President Trump will then receive Xi Jinping, who is "returning" to Washington, but has not disclosed details at this time.

Smith hopes that the U.S.-China relationship will pay attention to human rights issues

For Smith, who has been following China as a member of the House of Representatives since the 1980s, trade and human rights should never be decoupled. Smith called on the U.S. China agenda to make human rights a priority.

"I hope that in bilateral relations, we will be very, very tough on human rights issues. Again, why? If you can be kind to your own people, then you will naturally respect intellectual property rights and perhaps do better than you do now. Now they just take away patents and copyrights and keep them for themselves. How many American and European companies have their valuable intellectual property stolen by the Chinese Communist Party and are now in their hands? There is no rule of law there. So I think we have to be very, very firm on human rights," Smith said. "If we can get it right, even if there is a downturn in the economy during the transition, it doesn't matter. This is what the people deserve.”

Smith went on to say that China's strict censorship of information has made it impossible to build exchanges between the two countries on the truth. He has criticized big US tech giants for years for pandering to the Chinese government's censorship of speech.

He said in this interview, "If you are willing to kowtow and do what Xi Jinping wants, maybe he will not trouble you; But as long as you cross the line a little, he will come to the door immediately. We can see this from the internet to see how they monitor the network. In 2005, I hosted a high-profile hearing with companies such as IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, and Yahoo. I couldn't believe that these companies were helping to review everything. If you were using Google search engine in China at the time, what results would you get? It's just a bunch of beautiful pictures of everyone smiling in Tiananmen Square. Some of the pictures are true. But the tanks are gone, there is no Tiananmen Square massacre, all of which is thoroughly censored. Once I typed a lot of content into an Internet café in Beijing, including my own name, and a lot of negative information popped up. I type 'George R. W. Bush', and also found a lot of negative information about him. Then enter 'Tiananmen Square' and there is no result. So they instill one lie after another in their own people.”

He added to VOA: "As we said many years ago, the 'bamboo curtain' is not soundproof. In the past, it was often said that Europe had an 'iron curtain' and parts of Asia had a 'bamboo curtain'. You pierce it with the truth.”

Congressman Smith continued: "You need to know that I have received students and university students from China here. They sat down and talked to me for 45 minutes to 1 hour or more. Once, I asked one of my students to go to my constituency to talk to high school students, and they all said that the Tiananmen Square massacre never happened. Their attitude is very resolute. It could even be said that they even looked angry because I mentioned that it was true, because I asked them, 'What have you been taught? They replied, 'Mr. Parliamentarian, what are you talking about?' That didn't happen at all! These lies must be completely exposed. The relationship between the two countries must be based on truth and on basic human rights. Again, they do not respect any of these principles.”

The issue of forced organ harvesting in China has attracted the attention of lawmakers from both parties

In a politically polarized political climate in Washington, lawmakers from both parties have unanimously expressed concern about human rights issues in China and the current state of Hong Kong's autonomy. In the interview, Smith criticized the Chinese government's long-enforced one-child policy and the increasingly important issue of forced organ harvesting.

Rep. Smith emphasized that these human rights are not rights of the United States, but are universally recognized human rights ratified by the United Nations.

"The same is true for the widespread torture and the forced abortion policy that has destroyed countless families in China," Smith said. I mean the missing girls – the consequences of the 'one child per couple' policy will be irreversible for generations. They are gone forever. Two generations of women ceased to exist, and they were killed simply because they happened to be girls when they were still in their mother's womb. I remember one of the hearings I presided over – I had presided over many hearings on the 'one child per couple' policy – and one witness said: 'You know what? If you add up all the women and girls living in the United States and look at the two countries of China and India separately - unfortunately, there is also gender genocide, gender selection and abortion in India - you will find that in terms of numbers, the two are equal. In other words, every woman you see in the United States, or hear about every woman who lives here, has a total of the same number of lives that have been ruthlessly wiped out by China's forced abortion policy. Today, China is reaping the bitter fruits it has planted. Men can't find wives. First, the women who were supposed to be alive disappeared - they had the right to live in this world. Second, as men cannot find a spouse, the family structure also collapses. This situation is completely predictable. I had predicted this at the hearing; I have predicted this in the legislation I pushed for the House of Representatives. I have pointed out that forced abortion was characterized as a 'crime against humanity' in the Nuremberg war crimes trials – and in China, it has been rampant for 40 years and has not completely disappeared.”

"They also engage in forced organ harvesting, which is forced. If I, you, or one of us dies or has an accident and voluntarily donates a cornea or other body organ to a recipient in need, that's fine. That is voluntary. But in China, this is completely involuntary. As part of the genocide against Uyghurs, Falun Gong practitioners, and Tibetan Buddhists, they targeted these people. The number of Uyghur victims now exceeds even more than any other group. They traffic these organs, forcibly harvesting two to six organs from each victim, and victimize tens of thousands of people each year. It's simply unbelievable," Smith said excitedly in the interview, "just imagine that each victim was forcibly harvested two to six organs, half male and half male, and the average age was 28 years old. They pick the healthiest people and sell them or, like selling livers, give them to donors from the CCP's elite. If Xi Jinping needs a liver transplant tomorrow, his so-called 'doctors' will find a young victim and forcibly remove his organs and transplant them into his body.”

Rep. Smith and Democratic U.S. Rep. William Keating co-sponsored the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act in February last year. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in May last year and sent to the Senate for consideration.

The bill would impose sanctions on anyone involved in organ transplants, including visa revocation, and loss of immigration benefits, while also facing criminal penalties of up to $10,000 and 20 years in prison.

In addition, senators have introduced similar bills on forced organ harvesting in China. Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee jointly introduced the Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act on March 11. It aims to sanction those responsible for the forced harvesting of human organs in China. The bill not only requires the president to submit a list of relevant personnel to Congress, but also requires the secretary of state to submit a report to Congress on organ transplant policy and practice in China.

The bipartisan bill requires the President of the United States to submit a list to the relevant congressional committees of persons determined by the President to have intentionally and directly engaged in or facilitated forced organ harvesting in the People's Republic of China. All property of these individuals is prohibited from trading in the United States or with American personnel, and the United States will refuse to issue them entry visas, and existing visas can be revoked.

Smith: What drove me to pay attention to human rights in China came from my religious beliefs

Rep. Smith from New Jersey has been a strong critic of China's human rights situation for decades since entering Congress in 1981. Whether U.S.-China relations are tense or de-escalated, he has never stopped condemning the Chinese authorities' oppression of religious freedom and forced abortion, and has continued to introduce or co-sponsor related bills in the House of Representatives.

In the mouth of Chinese state media, he is an "anti-China veteran" and has been sanctioned by Beijing more than once. Rep. Smith is still on China's sanctions list and is barred from entering China.

At a time when both parties in Congress see Beijing as Washington's biggest rival, Smith remains one of the most active lawmakers on human rights issues in China. He said that his religious beliefs have driven him to continue to pay attention to human rights issues for many years and speak out for human rights in China.

"For me, it's my faith. I am Catholic. I firmly believe that we must treat everyone with respect," Smith said. "This faith has always been the driving force for my actions, and so has my wife. We are committed to addressing many issues, such as the right to life of unborn children, as well as various other human rights issues, not only in China but around the world. I first focused on China because of forced abortion, and then focused on religious freedom, or the lack thereof. We have spoken out for decades, both in Hong Kong and in Chinese mainland, where church members have been subjected to extremely brutal persecution.”

He also mentioned a meeting with Su Zhimin, the leader of the Chinese underground Catholic Church. "In 1994, I met with a Catholic bishop, Bishop Su of the Diocese of Baoding," he said. He was truly a saintly benevolent man. He spent more than 30 years in a labor camp, where he was held in extremely small cells, abused, deprived of food, and beaten. But he prayed for those who tormented him. In the Christian Bible, we are taught to love those who hate you, to be kind to those who persecute you, and to pray for them. Bishop Sue went through that ordeal, and about two years after I left, he returned to that ordeal, and he was arrested again and imprisoned. But he still stuck to his beliefs, and I wasn't sure if I could do that, I don't think I could do it.”

"If Xi Jinping is smart enough - he is indeed a smart man, but he is not a wise man, this is the difference. If he is truly wise, he will accept the Chinese faith community. These are very law-abiding people who care deeply about their families, their country, and their neighbors. They are the most important asset you can have. Why do this? Is it just because he can't fully control them? You know, faith is a beautiful gift in itself, and he is suppressing it," Smith told VOA at the end of the interview.

This article was published on April 3, 2026 and can be found online at: https://www.voachinese.com/a/voa-interview-with-congressman-chris-smith-20260402/8133748.html

Smith bill advancing religious freedom headed to House floorSmith’s HR 1744, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act, passed by House Foreign Affairs Committee

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

During today’s markup, the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously approved legislation authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to extend and authorize annual appropriations for the State Department’s United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) through fiscal year 2028.

If enacted, Smith’s United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Reauthorization Act of 2025 (HR 1744) will reauthorize the Commission, which was created through the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (PL 105-292)—of which Smith was an original cosponsor.

The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 created a strong, coordinated U.S. government response for addressing and combatting worldwide religious persecution, establishing numerous religious freedom-focused offices and positions at the State Department and the National Security Council.

During the markup of his bill, Smith, who has chaired more than 30 congressional hearings on the state of religious persecution throughout the globe, reiterated the need to continue funding this critical program: “It is vital that we reauthorize the USCIRF because it is the linchpin of the entire program that Congress created to promote religious freedom through the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

“The USCIRF is tasked with defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad, reviewing reports of religious freedom violations, and making policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress,” the leading religious freedom lawmaker continued.

Smith is also the author of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (PL 114-281), which updated the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to enhance and expand United States’ actions to advance religious freedom globally through enhanced diplomacy, training, counterterrorism, and foreign assistance efforts.

“Today, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is the U.S. government’s strongest and most respected voice for victims of religious persecution worldwide. USCIRF, in recent years, has been more effective than at any point in its history,” Smith said, concluding that “USCIRF is important to millions of our constituents of all faiths.”

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Wednesday, April 22nd from 5:00—6:30 PMSmith announces information night for students interested in competing for a U.S. Service Academy nomination

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today announced the date of his United States Service Academy Information Night, which will take place on Wednesday, April 22^nd from 5:00—6:30 PM at the Ocean County Resource Center (1005 Hooper Ave., Toms River, NJ 08753).

“Over the years, I’ve had the honor and privilege of nominating many outstanding young men and women for acceptance into our Nation’s Service Academies,” said Smith.

“Many, if not all, of the students I nominated attended one of the Service Academy information sessions hosted by my office. The upcoming Service Academy Information Night offers a comprehensive venue for prospective students to learn more about the nomination process, as well as all the great resources and possibilities that these institutions offer.”

The event will provide important information and resources for high school and college students, who reside in New Jersey’s Fourth Congressional District and are interested in competing for one of Rep. Smith’s congressional nominations to the U.S. Service Academies. Parents and educators are also welcome to attend this valuable information session.

Residents of New Jersey’s Fourth Congressional District between the ages of 17 and 22 (17-25 for the Merchant Marine Academy), who are U.S. citizens and single with no dependents, can seek a nomination to one or more of the Service Academies through Rep. Smith’s office. Interested candidates can start the application process as early as the spring of their junior year of high school.

Nominations are available to those who reside in the Fourth Congressional District, regardless of where they attend[ed] high school or college. The Fourth Congressional District encompasses 21 municipalities in Ocean County and 19 municipalities in Monmouth County, including:

Ocean County:

Bay Head Borough, Beachwood Borough, Berkeley Township (part), Brick Township, Island Heights Borough, Jackson Township, Lacey Township (most), Lakehurst Borough, Lakewood Township, Lavallette Borough, Mantoloking Borough, Manchester Township, Ocean Gate Borough, Pine Beach Borough, Plumsted Township, Point Pleasant Beach, Point Pleasant Borough, Seaside Heights Borough, Seaside Park Borough, South Toms River Borough, Toms River Township.

Monmouth County:

Avon-By-The-Sea Borough, Belmar Borough, Brielle Borough, Colts Neck Township, Eatontown Borough, Farmingdale Borough, Freehold Township (part), Howell Township, Lake Como Borough, Manasquan Borough, Middletown Township (part), Ocean Township, Sea Girt Borough, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, Spring Lake Borough, Spring Lake Heights Borough, Tinton Falls Borough, Wall Township.

Advance registration is required for this event. Please visit Rep. Smith’s website at ChrisSmith.house.gov and click “Constituent Services” > “Service Academy Nominations,” or call his Constituent Service Center at (732) 504-0567 for the registration form.

The U.S. Service Academies prepare, train, and educate our young men and women to become the best officers and commanders in our Nation’s armed forces. These institutions offer students an incredibly prestigious and high-quality collegiate education experience, completely free-of-charge—provided, of course, that the student graduates and fulfills his or her service obligation.

The U.S. Service Academies are:

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York;
The U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland;
The U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado;
The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York; and
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut.*

*The U.S. Coast Guard Academy does not require a congressional nomination. Students may apply directly to the Academy.

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APP article on Smith's district medal presentation'Lakewood vet gets Bronze Star, Purple Heart that took 58 years to arrive'

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By Jerry Carino
Published March 18, 2026 at 5:15 AM ET

Leo Perlmutter was a corporal in the U.S. Marines, fighting in the bloody Tet Offensive in 1968, when a mortar round exploded near his head.

“I didn’t even know I had gotten hit,” he said.

A Navy corpsman — a medical specialist — noticed his forehead was bleeding.

“I said, ‘Eh, it’s just a pimple,” Perlmutter recalled. “He said, ‘That ain’t no pimple. You got some metal in your head.’”

Leo Perlmutter during his service in Vietnam. Provided By U.S. Rep. Chris Smith's Office

The corpsman removed the shrapnel, bandaged the wound up, and Perlmutter kept fighting. He didn’t think much else of it — there were many more dangerous moments during his three-year service in the war.

Recently the Lakewood resident was telling the story to a friend, that friend made a few calls, and on March 12 Perlmutter was presented with a Purple Heart medal — the standard honor for an American military members wounded in combat — by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-Monmouth, former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Veterans Affairs.

During a ceremony in Smith’s Toms River office, the congressman also presented Perlmutter with a Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in combat. According to military records, the medals were shipped to Perlmutter some time ago, but for an unknown reason had never arrived.

“We are so very grateful for what you did,” Smith told Perlmutter during the ceremony. “The fact that you have received these medals is just further recognition of how much respect and honor we need to afford you for that sacrifice.”

The 78-year-old Perlmutter enlisted in the Marines in 1966. Serving in Vietnam brought near daily danger, he said. At one juncture, as he was on patrol in a place Marines referred to as Elephant Valley — a heavily contested stretch of jungle west of Da Nang — he encountered a big tripod with a North Vietnamese Army flag flying from it.

“I decided I wanted that flag,” he said. “The other guys (in his patrol) didn’t want to hear about it, so I told them to keep an eye out, I checked for booby traps and I climbed all the way to the top. As I was cutting the flag down, they started rocketing and mortaring Da Nang.

“Next thing I know I was on top of the thing and everything was illuminated,” he said. “There’s illumination all over the place and it’s like I’m in the middle of Times Square on New Year’s Eve.”

Lakewood resident Leo Perlmutter (center) holds his Bronze Star and Purple Heart after being presented with the medals by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (far left). Provided by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith's Office

In other words, Perlmutter had become a clear target. He grabbed the flag, dropped down and got out of harm’s way, though there would be more peril ahead.

“That was the start of the Tet Offensive,” he said.

The flag never made it back home — someone swiped it along the way — but Perlmutter did. Fifty-eight years later, his medals got there, too.

This article was published on March 18, 2026 and can be found online at: https://www.app.com/story/news/military/veterans/2026/03/18/lakewood-vietnam-vet-gets-bronze-star-purple-heart-after-58-years/89185878007/

Military.com interview with Rep. Smith'Sister, Daughter of CCP Political Prisoner Share Hope For Trump-Xi Meeting'

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By Nick Mordowanec
Published March 16, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT

Dr. Gulshan Abbas, 63, a retired physician and ethnic Uyghur, was disappeared by Chinese authorities in September 2018 in China’s western region of Xinjiang, after her sister, Rushan Abbas, publicly spoke out against the Chinese Communist Party’s oppression of Uyghurs. Gulshan’s family was unaware of her whereabouts until December 2020, when it was learned that a secret trial had taken place in March 2019 declaring Gulshan guilty for “taking part in organized terrorism, aiding terrorist activities and seriously disrupting social order.”

Now, Gulshan is entering her eighth year of imprisonment. Her daughter, Ziba Murat, and Rushan told Military.com that her health and morale are both deteriorating. Efforts to make Gulshan’s story an international one have succeeded, with both Rushan and Ziba invited as guests at multiple presidential State of the Union addresses. They have been in rooms with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

Rushan Abbas (left) and Gulshan Abbas pose for a photo. Gulshan has been imprisoned in China for more than 7 years, drawing stark criticism from U.S. officials. (Rushan Abbas)

Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet within three weeks’ time, with economics and specifically trade anticipated to encapsulate much of the leaders’ meeting. Americans being held as political prisoners remains another major priority, according to the Trump administration.

“President Trump is always concerned about Americans detained abroad, which is why he has brought over 100 individuals—a record number—home from around the world,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Military.com.

A Speech, Followed by a Disappearance

The timing of Gulshan’s disappearance is directly correlated to the stature of her sister, Rushan, and one particular speech that years later continues to cause agony.

Rushan has long been one of the outspoken voices of dissent against the Chinese for its treatment of Uyghurs. She’s the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Campaign for Uyghurs, instituted in 2017 and publicly referencing the CCP’s actions as “genocide.” In October 2024 she was elected chairperson of the executive committee of World Uyghur Congress.

A few short months later, on Sept. 5, 2018, Rushan and a panel convened at the Hudson Institute to discuss the PRC’s “war on terrorism.” and discuss the impacts on the most heavily garrisoned and surveilled region of Xinjiang, known to Uyghurs as “East Turkestan.”

Five days later, Gulshan disappeared. Rushan said it’s no coincidence.

“That was my first public speech ever,” Rushan told Military.com. “I spoke about mass detention and China's genocidal policies, outlining the fate of my in-laws. My husband's entire family went missing. That was televised on YouTube, it's still on there.”

Rushan Abbas holds a photo of her sister, Gulshan. (Rushan Abbas)

It wasn’t just Gulshan who was taken by the PRC. The aunt of both Gulshan and Rushan—the only other living relative in China following the deaths of the Abbas sisters’ parents—was also detained the same exact day, some 900 miles (1,400 kilometers) away.

“At that time, China's mass detention was targeting thought leaders, educators, people who ever traveled to Muslim-majority countries, saying that they are infected by ideological Islamic extremists,” Rushan said.

She referenced how those individuals who were subject to detention were those who cover their hair, give off any kind of optics that show that they are religious or people who go to a mosque.

But “none of these criteria covers my sister,” she added, saying that Gulshan’s never traveled to Muslim-majority countries, worn headscarves, or put herself on the frontlines of the ideological debate.

“There's no way that she should be targeted other than that speech that I gave,” Rushan said.

'Not Free Yet'

Ziba Murat told Military.com that her mother had been traveling back and forth from China to the United States before her detainment to see her two daughters and three siblings (two brothers, one sister) who all reside in the states.

In 2016, Murat's sister had a baby and Gulshan met the child at 3 months old. That was the last time Murat, a Tampa, Fla., resident who in 2018 had an infant, had contact with her mother.

[My baby] was 3 months old. Being a new mom and trying to find out what happened to my mom, trying to advocate at the same time while working—it's just been very, very difficult. - Ziba Murat

“Of course, my aunt has been very vocal, but I have to say both administrations have been very supportive of the case, both parties, Republican or Democrat, but we're going on the eighth year of her detention," Murat added.

Even with the advocacy on behalf of the government and human rights groups, Murat said it remains a cold reality.

“I'm grateful for all the support I'm getting from everybody, but [my mother’s] still in jail. She's not free yet. That just makes me sad that we have so much support, but we still can't get her out.”

Forging Relationships in Washington

Countless efforts have been made in the United States by Rushan, Murat and the broader family that includes Rushan’s two older brothers who also reside in the U.S.

That has included direct conversations with some of Washington’s most powerful brokers, notably now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“Secretary Rubio was my senator then, so he is actually the first very few persons that publicly spoke about this case,” Murat said. “And since [Gulshan’s] detention, he's been vocal at all platforms about the case, calling for her release consistently.”

Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., left, speaks with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., co-chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC), during a hearing to examine developments in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Johnson had Murat as a guest at this year’s State of the Union, with photos showing the pair together.

In an X post prior to the event, Johnson publicly referenced Gulshan being “forcibly detained and arrested by the Chinese Communist Party” for “speaking out about the CCP’s heinous treatment of Uyghur Muslims.”

Ziba Murat joins House Speaker Mike Johnson as a guest at the 2026 State of the Union.

Rushan has been a frequent guest to the State of the Union herself.

In 2020 she was hosted by Rubio. In 2023, she was hosted by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), ranking member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party. And then in 2024, she was a guest of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).

Rushan and Murat met individuals ranging from former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (during Trump’s first term), to President Joe Biden.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chair of the CECC, hosted Claire Lai at this year’s State of the Union address. She is the daughter of Jimmy Lai, a businessman who in February was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Hong Kong High Court.

Smith told Military.com that Gulshan’s “completely bogus ‘terrorism’ and ‘social disruption’ charges” are meant as retaliation against Rushan’s activism.

Rushan was described by Smith as “an excellent witness” at a CECC hearing two years ago, titled, ‘The PRC's Universal Periodic Review and the Real State of Human Rights in China,’ where she testified about the human rights abuses occurring in the XUAR, as well as how her sister’s arrest is a form of transnational kin punishment and repression.

Unfortunately, Dr. Abbas’ case is not an anomaly—it is a microcosm of a much larger issue. - Rep. Smith

“China wrongfully detains and imprisons more Americans—and the family members of U.S. nationals—than any other country in the world," Smith added.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., speaks at a rally before the March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Smith previously introduced legislation, the Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained in Communist China Act (HR 5491), that would mandate the U.S. government to use multiple diplomatic, legal and economic levers to obtain the release of Americans and their family members from CCP imprisonment.

"This legislation will help to make the long-awaited release of Dr. Abbas, who is specifically named in the bill—and the countless other Americans and relatives of Americans wrongly imprisoned in China—an achievable reality," Smith said, urging his House colleagues to swiftly take up the legislation for a vote.

Returning to the Scene

As efforts to release her forge on, Gulshan’s health and mental state are deteriorating.

Murat described how Gulshan already had a list of health issues including high blood pressure and back pain that when it onsets effectively paralyzes her.

“She couldn't move. And then both of her eyes went through multiple surgeries and need to get checked up every year,” Murat said. “She needs to follow a medical procedure.”

Ziba Murat, left, stands with her mother, Gulshan, and sister. (Ziba Murat)

But Murat said that whenever congressional offices reach out to the embassy and ask for any updates, all the answers are redundant and provide no real insight to her mother’s current condition.

“What worries me is that I don't know if anybody was allowed to go see her because all of us are here,” she added, fighting through tears. “All her immediate family members are in the United States. So when they tell me those things, I just keep wondering, has anybody gone see her physically? Does anybody know how she looks, you know, how she's doing?”

On March 16, Murat is speaking about the CCP’s political prisoners at the Hudson Institute—the very place where Rushan spoke almost eight years ago.

Years of Guilt

The Trump-Xi meeting may show promise for political dissidents and prisoners everywhere.

“This is a great chance for President Trump,” said Rushan, who remains close with Murat and her sister and recently visited her in Florida. “He always says Xi Jinping's his friend, maybe he should utilize that friendship or relationship to bring Gulshan to the United States to her family.”

Gulshan’s imprisonment is personal for Rushan for more reasons than one. She takes responsibility for her advocacy leading to the family’s unfathomable hardship, as that obviously of her sister.

It’s been difficult, it completely changed my life.

“Before my sister's detention, I had a successful career in business development and I was advocating at the site for Uyghur people's rights as an American citizen, practicing my freedom of speech under my constitution," she added.

"But imagine being the cost of your dear sister's detention lasting 7.5 years, waking up every day with that and going to bed every night with that feeling."

Gulshan was never a political person or even an outspoken one, Rushan said.

“I'm the youngest in my family and I was the one who was always outspoken or advocating for human rights,” she added. “But [Gulshan] was not. She retired at an early age due to health reasons.

“She's just a mother and a grandma.”

This article was published on March 16, 2026 and can be found online at: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2026/03/16/sister-daughter-of-ccp-political-prisoner-share-hope-trump-xi-meeting.html

Smith presents Purple Heart, Bronze Star medals to Vietnam combat Veteran 58 years after battle

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Corporal Leo Perlmutter

Fifty-eight years ago, U.S. Marine Corporal Leo Perlmutter did not know what hit him. He was in one of the battles in the Tet Offensive, launched by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against the U.S. and Vietnamese forces in January of 1968. Enemy mortar rounds were coming in all around, and one struck close to his position.

“I didn’t even know I was hit,” Perlmutter said. “A medic came to treat me. I was bleeding from the head from shrapnel.”

He qualified for the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and other medals, but the Purple Heart never arrived.

Yesterday, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), former Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, presented Perlmutter with the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star at his Constituent Service Center in Toms River, New Jersey.

“You took shrapnel, but thank God, you got through it. You survived,” Smith told Perlmutter, who was accompanied by his girlfriend, Kathy Hoernlein; family friend, Peter Schneider; and several neighbors. Representative Marines from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst’s Marine Air Group 49 (MAG-49), a helicopter unit, also participated in the ceremony.

Smith expressed regret that it took so many years for the Marine to finally obtain his Purple Heart, but underscored that the nation’s gratitude for his bravery and service has never diminished.

Perlmutter accepted the Purple Heart and other medals to a warm round of applause, after which he shared harrowing details of his military service, as well as the respect he holds for those who served with him.

Born in Hamburg, Germany, his parents, Martin and Mary Perlmutter, survived concentration camps and came to America to start a new life. When the Vietnam War escalated, Leo had volunteered to become a U.S. Marine.

When Perlmutter returned to the States after the war, he eventually settled in New York City. Following a career as a lifeguard swimming instructor, he has resided in Lakewood for five years.

PHOTO: Cpl. Leo Perlmutter is presented with his Purple Heart medal during a ceremony at Rep. Smith’s Constituent Service Center. From left to right: Rep. Smith, SSGT Anthony Francisco, Cpl. Leo Perlmutter, Kathy Hoernlein, Peter Schneider, and Maj. Daniel Dennen.

In March of 2024, Smith asked the director of the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) to investigate—and, if warranted—approve the hallowed medal, reserved only for those injured in combat. He sent the NPRC a copy of Perlmutter’s DD-214 separation paper. In an unfortunate twist of fate, while the medals shipped, they never arrived, prompting Smith to submit additional inquiries to the NPRC.

“We are so very grateful for what you did,” Smith said to Perlmutter during the ceremony. “The fact that you have received these medals is just further recognition of how much respect and honor we need to afford you for that sacrifice. Thank you so much.”

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News Ghana article on USCIRF's 2026 Annual Report'U.S. Lawmaker Pushes Harder Action After Damning Religious Persecution Report'

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

By Roger A. Agana
Published March 11, 2026

A senior United States congressman has called on Washington to deploy every diplomatic and economic tool available after a landmark federal commission flagged 18 countries as the world’s most severe violators of religious freedom.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2026 Annual Report on March 4, documenting violations throughout 2025 and setting out policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress on advancing freedom of religion or belief abroad.

Representative Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey and a longtime advocate for religious liberty, welcomed the report while pressing for stronger follow-through. “The United States must use every diplomatic and economic tool at its disposal to fervently defend the fundamental right of religious freedom,” Smith said in a statement.

Nigeria Religious Persecution

Among the most significant findings, the report recommends adding five new countries to the Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list, which is reserved for governments responsible for systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations. The new additions are Afghanistan, India, Libya, Syria, and Vietnam, joining 13 longstanding designees including China, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, and Russia.

Smith drew particular attention to Nigeria, where the scale of violence is described in the report as abysmal. According to USCIRF, nearly 53,000 civilians have been killed in targeted violence in Nigeria since 2009, with roughly 21,000 deaths recorded in just the past five years. In 2025 alone, gunmen abducted more than 300 children from a Catholic school dormitory, a Christian priest was executed, and a market vendor was burned alive following blasphemy accusations.

Smith recently introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 to combat the widespread religious violence there, requiring the U.S. Secretary of State to compile a comprehensive report on American efforts to address ongoing persecution and mass atrocities in the country.

The USCIRF report also expressed concern over the impact of U.S. foreign aid cuts, noting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced reductions to 5,200 USAID programs, representing 83 percent of all USAID programs, including 85 percent of human rights and rule of law programs.

Smith has chaired more than 30 hearings across three congressional committees focused on religious persecution trends, and is the author of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, which expanded U.S. tools for advancing religious liberty through diplomacy, counterterrorism measures, and foreign assistance.

Beyond the 18 CPC designations, the report also recommends 11 countries for the Special Watch List (SWL) for severe violations that fall short of the highest threshold. New SWL additions include Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Qatar, and Turkey.

This article was published on March 11, 2026 and can be found online at: https://www.newsghana.com.gh/u-s-lawmaker-pushes-harder-action-after-damning-religious-persecution-report/#google_vignette

Smith welcomes release of USCIRF’s 2026 Annual Report on global religious persecution; urges strong U.S. response

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

“The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)’s 2026 Annual Report is a sobering reminder that millions of people around the world still face imprisonment, violence, and discrimination simply because of their faith,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)—a longtime defender of religious liberty—upon the release of USCIRF’s 21^st Annual Report, led by USCIRF Chairwoman Vicky Hartzler.

The report evaluates the religious freedom conditions in dozens of countries and makes recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress under the International Religious Freedom Act (PL 105-292), of which Smith was an original cosponsor.

“Global threats to religious freedom are only growing, as evidenced by the additions of Libya and Syra to the CPC recommendation list,” continued Smith, the prime author of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (PL 114-281), which enhances and expands the United States’ actions to advance religious freedom globally through enhanced diplomacy, training, counterterrorism, and foreign assistance efforts.

“In light of these unfortunate developments, the United States must use every diplomatic and economic tool at its disposal to fervently defend the fundamental right of religious freedom,” noted Smith.

Smith noted that the report highlights the sustained and systemic religious freedom violations occurring in countries such as China, Cuba, Iran, Nigeria, Nicaragua, and North Korea—places where governments continue to perpetrate or tolerate the persecution and repression of religious communities and minorities.

The report also recommends that two countries—Libya and Syria—be newly added to the Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list, a designation reserved for governments responsible for “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious freedom. It also advises placing Qatar on the Special Watch List (SWL) for severe violations that fall short of the CPC threshold.

To intensify congressional oversight of these abuses, Smith has chaired more than 30 hearings across three congressional committees, where he serves as Co-/Chairman—the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC)—all focused on examining and condemning trends of religious persecution, both region-based and globally.

Recently, on March 5^th, Smith chaired a TLHRC hearing entitled, “U.S. Presidency of the G20–An Opportunity to Champion Human Rights,” which assessed how the Trump administration can use the U.S. Presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) forum to advance human rights, with a particular emphasis on religious freedom and freedom of speech.

While delivering his opening remarks at the hearing, Smith said, “One of the most pressing crises today is the denial of freedom of religion—of the right to live as people of faith, free from fear and persecution. According to Open Doors, approximately 25,000 Christians have been killed for their faith—globally—in the past five years. Most of them were killed in situations of some connivance or complicity on the part of governments…

“It would be a missed opportunity for the G20 to meet in the U.S. and this issue not to be raised. The G20 is the leading—and perhaps, only effective—international forum for cooperation among leading powers that are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu, at a time when broad civilizational tensions between them seem to be tragically increasing.”

In addition to chairing congressional hearings that call attention to grave religious freedom violations, Smith has authored and introduced legislation to strengthen the United States’ responses to countries whose governments are complicit in or complacent about the religious persecution occurring within their borders.

Smith recently introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 (HR 7457) to combat the widespread religious violence perpetrated against Christians and non-radical Muslims in Nigeria. The bill would require the U.S. Secretary of State to compile and submit to Congress a comprehensive report on U.S. efforts to address the ongoing religious persecution and mass atrocities there.

Moreover, Smith is the author of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2025 (HR 1744), pending legislation to reauthorize the USCIRF board and strengthen its ability to monitor and expose religious freedom abuses.

“For decades, Congress has made it clear that religious freedom is a core American value and a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy,” Smith stated. “Through informative hearings, comprehensive legislation, and incisive oversight, we will continue to press for enhanced accountability and stronger actions against regimes that imprison, torture, or kill citizens because of their beliefs.”

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Opening statement of Co-Chairman Smith at hearing on G20 forumU.S. Presidency of the G20–An Opportunity to Champion Human Rights

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 05:00:00 GMT

The following are excerpts of Co-Chairman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) opening statement at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’s March 5^th hearing, entitled “U.S. Presidency of the G20–An Opportunity to Champion Human Rights”:

Good afternoon and welcome to everyone joining us today for this important hearing on the U.S. Presidency of the G20. I’d particularly like to recognize and welcome several Romanian parliamentary deputies who are here with us today.

As the United States assumes the 2026 Presidency of the G20, the administration has a rare opportunity to promote human rights within the world’s leading forum for international economic cooperation. The G20 rightly focuses on macroeconomic stability, financial regulation, energy policy, and trade—vital priorities that foster growth and prosperity. And President Trump has rightly stated that these issues will be the core of this year’s G20 agenda.

This emphasis is essential—focus on the core issues of growth and stability, rather than endless expansion into peripheral bureaucratic issues, is what the world needs and wants from the G20 right now.

At the same time, focus on the core issues does not exclude all human rights issues from the G20, since several crisis issues touch on those core issues. The economy exists to promote human flourishing, and people do not flourish apart from certain respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.

That is why today’s hearing will explore how human rights—especially freedom of religion or belief and freedom of speech—can be elevated during the G20 Presidency.

One of the most pressing crises today is the denial of freedom of religion—of the right to live as people of faith, free from fear and persecution. According to Open Doors, approximately 25,000 Christians have been killed for their faith, globally, in the past 5 years. Most of them were killed in situations of some connivance or complicity on the part of governments. Ancient Christian communities in Syria, Iraq, Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey, Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa have, in the past twenty years, been ethnically cleansed or threatened, harassed and persecuted, in many cases into near extinction, and the virus still spreads.

Here, I want to thank President Trump for his support for Nigerians living under the threat of jihadist violence—the great majority of those 25,000 Christians killed have been Nigerian Christians. President Trump has said, “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria… The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria…” And President Trump is acting.

It would be a missed opportunity for the G20 to meet in the U.S. and this issue not to be raised. The G20 is the leading—and perhaps, only effective—international forum for cooperation among leading powers that are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu, at a time when broad civilizational tensions between them seem to be tragically increasing.

At the same time, cooperation and dialogue in matters touching on religion has not been on the G20 agenda since 2022.

One promising avenue for putting it on the G20 agenda is the G20 Religion Forum, known as the R20. In 2022, under Indonesia’s G20 Presidency, the first R20 International Summit of Religious Leaders was incorporated into the official program of G20 Main Events. As Professor Mary Ann Glendon wrote in First Things, this marked the first time the G20 formally acknowledged that religion can and should function as a source of global solutions, rather than merely as a source of conflict.

The R20 was organized by Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim organization, led by Yahya Staquf. Nahdlatul Ulama has undertaken significant efforts to promote a pluralistic and tolerant vision of Islam and to marginalize extremist ideologies that fuel violence and terror. The R20 communiqué in Bali called for a “global alliance founded upon shared civilizational values” and for preventing the political weaponization of identity and curtailing communal hatred.

Religious believers constitute more than 80 percent of the world’s population. If the G20 is serious about inclusive and sustainable development, it cannot ignore the moral and cultural forces that shape the lives of billions, including their economic lives. The R20 offers a vehicle for engaging religious leaders and communities in addressing religious persecution, identity-based violence, modern slavery, displacement, and threats posed by emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.

I urge the Trump administration to consider formally recognizing the R20 as a permanent G20 Engagement Group. The R20 would strengthen the cause of human dignity, amplify voices committed to peace, pluralism, and freedom, and help counter religious extremism and defend persecuted minorities. For these reasons, it deserves serious consideration and support.

Another human right with profound economic implications that demands inclusion in the G20’s core economic and policy coordination agenda is freedom of speech. Around the world—including in several G20 countries—regulatory pressures on media and online expression are intensifying, often under the guise of combating “misinformation” or “hate speech.” In parts of Europe and elsewhere, an epidemic of state- and NGO-driven censorship has emerged, where laws ostensibly aimed at public safety are weaponized to silence dissent, suppress religious viewpoints, and marginalize political opposition. This phenomenon is amplified by a censorship-industrial complex—a network of governments, technology platforms, NGOs, and international bodies—that, under banners of safety or order, deplatforms, demonetizes, and stigmatizes lawful speech. Religious perspectives, especially on issues of life, family, and human identity, frequently face discriminatory treatment in content moderation practices.

As President Trump has powerfully stated, “If we don’t have Free Speech, then we just don’t have a Free Country. It’s as simple as that.” Under his leadership, the United States has taken decisive action domestically by removing government instructions to social media companies on content, defunding NGOs that promote censorship in the name of countering “disinformation,” and advancing these principles in foreign policy through funding and advocacy. When state-mandated or officially encouraged censorship undermines freedom of speech and media freedom on the internet and social media, the economy suffers deeply: businesses and financial markets cannot operate effectively or compete globally when trapped in a bubble of enforced narratives and suppressed information flows. This is a clear lesson from the collapse of communism, where controlled information stifled innovation and prosperity—yet some have failed to heed it.

During the U.S. G20 Presidency, the administration should champion the foundational democratic principle that the remedy for harmful speech is more speech, not enforced silence. This can be advanced through diplomatic engagement promoting transparency in content moderation, accountability for any government pressure exerted on private platforms, and robust protections for religious and political expression online.

The G20’s Digital Economy Working Group and related discussions on information integrity, digital trust, and platform governance provide natural venues to elevate these issues, ensuring commitments to an open, innovation-driven digital economy align with human rights, rather than enabling suppression. By encouraging Engagement Groups to prioritize principles of sovereignty, transparency, accountability, religious freedom, and free expression—and by insisting on clarity in funding and governance for civil society participants—the United States can help shape a Leaders’ Declaration that delivers not only technocratic consensus, but genuine moral clarity on defending open discourse as essential to global economic vitality and human flourishing.

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News Ghana article on Smith's TLHRC hearing'US Lawmakers Push to Put Christian Persecution on G20 Agenda'

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 05:00:00 GMT

By News Ghana
Published March 5, 2026

A bipartisan congressional commission held a hearing in Washington on Thursday calling on the Trump administration to use its 2026 Group of Twenty (G20) presidency to champion religious freedom and free speech, with particular focus on the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria and the growing threat of state-sponsored censorship globally.

The hearing, convened by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, explored how the Trump administration can elevate human rights issues in connection with the G20 presidency ahead of the Leaders’ Summit scheduled for Miami, Florida, on 14 to 15 December 2026.

Republican Co-Chairman Chris Smith, opening the session, highlighted Nigeria as the single most urgent case for the forum to address. He cited Open Doors data indicating that approximately 25,000 Christians have been killed for their faith globally over the past five years, with the great majority of those deaths occurring in Nigeria. Smith praised President Donald Trump for publicly stating that Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria and for taking steps to address the situation, calling it a moment where G20 solidarity could translate into concrete protective action.

Smith also proposed that the Trump administration formally recognise the Religion 20 (R20) as a permanent G20 Engagement Group. The R20 was first incorporated into the official G20 programme during Indonesia’s 2022 presidency, marking the first time the forum formally acknowledged that religion can function as a source of global solutions rather than merely a source of conflict. The R20 communiqué issued in Bali called for a global alliance founded on shared civilizational values and urged the prevention of identity-based political violence.

On free speech, Smith warned that a growing “censorship-industrial complex” involving governments, technology platforms, and non-governmental organisations was suppressing religious and political expression in multiple G20 countries, arguing this had direct economic consequences by distorting information flows that businesses and financial markets depend upon.

The Trump administration has outlined a narrow three-theme agenda for the Miami summit: removing regulatory burdens, unlocking affordable energy supply chains, and pioneering new technologies. Topics including climate change, debt relief, inequality, and sustainability have been excluded from the formal agenda.

Ghana, as a predominantly Christian nation in sub-Saharan Africa with close ties to both the United States and Nigeria, has an interest in the outcome of any G20 commitment on the protection of religious minorities and the framework governing cross-border digital expression.

This article was published on March 5, 2026 and can be found online at: https://www.newsghana.com.gh/us-lawmakers-push-to-put-christian-persecution-on-g20-agenda/#google_vignette