The release of political prisoners should be a priority at the Trump-Xi summit

For more than seven years, Ziba Murat waited for news that her mother Gulshan Abbas, a peaceful Uighur doctor wrongfully detained by the CCP, would be released. Seven birthdays have passed. Seven almost eight years have passed since her detention. And more recently, on her eighth mother’s day took place without any notification from China as to when her innocent mother would be returned to her family in America. As the years pass, the more difficult it is to hope for her safe return.

So when Murat received an invitation from House Speaker Mike Johnson to attend this year’s state of the union address, she felt hopeful that with the right people raising their voices, she might see her mother again.

This week, as President Trump is in Beijing, Murat – like many other American citizens separated from loved ones across China – hopes that this time, her beloved mother will be freed and returned safely home where she belongs.

In the past week, President Trump has indicated his intention to raise the cases of other wrongfully detained political prisoners across China with Xi Jinping, including the famous Hong Konger, Jimmy Laiand Christian Pastor, Ezra Jin Mingri. Signs like these suggest that Washington and Beijing intend to discuss more than trade and economic issues when President Trump and Xi Jinping meet.

But it’s not just the President’s words that offer encouragement. Today, the U.S Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed bipartisan resolutions that put the cases of several high priority political prisoners and calling for their release and safe return to their families. Gulshan Abbas, Pastor Jin, Jimmy Lai, Gao Quanfu and Pang Yu were among the political prisoners named in the resolutions. Their inclusion on a select list of political prisoners demonstrates the premium the US government places on securing their freedom and hopefully, at the very least, increases the likelihood that they will be named. That Congress passed this resolution now demonstrates the alignment of the executive and legislative branches in prioritizing the release of political prisoners during the summit.

As President Trump and Xi Jinping prepare to meet, the President should recognize that the US has the upper hand in the negotiations. A flagging Chinese economy means China needs access to American markets more than the US needs access to its own.

The US should take advantage of its strategic leverage and ask the CCP – as a goodwill gesture – to release high-profile political prisoners, including Jimmy Lai, Pastor Jeanand Gulshan Abbasas well as others mentioned in the congressional resolution. Securing their release would be demonstrate American power and to restore hope to American citizen families like Murat’s that they will be reunited with their family members once again.