A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Jimmy Lai, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Ekpar Asat detained by the People's Republic of China during future engagements with Chinese President Xi Jingping.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. Res. 728 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 728

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Jimmy Lai, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Ekpar Asat detained by the People's Republic of China during future engagements with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 13, 2026

Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Schatz, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Alsobrooks, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Budd, Mr. Curtis, Ms. Duckworth, and Mr. Coons) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

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RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Jimmy Lai, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Ekpar Asat detained by the People's Republic of China during future engagements with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has arrested Chinese, American, and British citizens for the peaceful expression of freedom of speech or religion, or such acts by family members; Whereas such arrests have been widely condemned by the international community and human rights organizations, with repeated calls for the release of the detainees; Whereas, on May 17, 2025, Pastor Gao Quanfu of the Light of Zion Church in Xi'an City was detained and is being held on charges of ``using superstitious activities to undermine the implementation of law'' and ``fraud''; Whereas Pastor Gao's wife, Pang Yu, who was subsequently detained on June 7, 2025, remains held despite holding no official position in the church, and has been denied access to critical prescription medication; Whereas, on or about October 10, 2025, authorities of the People's Republic of China detained Pastor Jin Mingri, founder of Zion Church, along with other church leaders, on equally dubious charges of ``illegal use of information networks''; Whereas Pastor Jin continues to be detained without access to critical medications to treat diabetes or contact with family members in the People's Republic of China and the United States; Whereas, on November 7, 2025, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 463, calling for the ``immediate and unconditional release of all detained members of Zion Church, including Pastor Jin'' and for the Government of the People's Republic of China to end ``harassment and intimidation of the relatives of Zion church members and their relatives''; Whereas, in 1995, Jimmy Lai founded the Apple Daily newspaper in Hong Kong and subsequently faced repeated harassment and arrest, including a 69 month sentence in 2022, on dubious fraud charges that were later overturned, and a subsequent 20-year sentence in February 2026 on dubious national security charges; Whereas, in December 2025, President Donald Trump said he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to consider releasing Jimmy Lai; Whereas, on December 4, 2025, House Resolution 930 (119th Congress) was introduced commemorating Jimmy Lai and calling on authorities of the People's Republic of China to ``immediately and unconditionally release Jimmy Lai and all other Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates unjustly imprisoned''; Whereas Gulshan Abbas, a retired medical doctor and grandmother, was forcibly disappeared on September 11, 2018, shortly after her sister, a United States citizen, publicly criticized the treatment of Uyghurs by the Government of the People's Republic of China; Whereas Dr. Abbas was later sentenced to 20 years following secret proceedings on charges that independent observers and human rights organizations have characterized as politically motivated; Whereas the prolonged detention of Dr. Abbas raises grave concerns regarding her health, well-being, and access to a fair trial, as she suffers from severe high blood pressure and osteoporosis, among other conditions; Whereas, on July 25, 2024, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate unanimously passed an amendment to Senate Bill 4797, 118th Congress, restricting United States visas for ``Government officials of the People's Republic of China about whom the Secretary of State has credible information have been involved in the wrongful detention of Gulshan Abbas''; Whereas Ekpar Asat, a Uyghur entrepreneur who participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program of the Department of State, was detained in Urumqi on April 9, 2016, just days after returning from the United States; Whereas Mr. Asat was reportedly sentenced to 15 years in prison without any publicly documented trial or transparent judicial process, suffered from years of solitary confinement, and remains detained in Aksu prison camp, where he continues to be denied access to legal counsel and adequate medical care; and Whereas addressing individual cases of arbitrary or wrongful detention has historically been an important component of United States diplomacy, reflects longstanding bipartisan commitments to political and religious freedoms, and is an important factor in United States bilateral relations: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate-- (1) calls upon the President to prioritize securing the humanitarian release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Jimmy Lai, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, Ekpar Asat, and other wrongly detained individuals on the agenda for engagements with President Xi Jinping, including the anticipated May 2026 summit; (2) urges the President to seek verifiable proof of life and access to independent legal counsel, family communication, and medical care for such detainees; and (3) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to defend political and religious freedoms worldwide. <all>