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Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Expressing condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of religious minority groups, including Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists and the detention of Pastor "Ezra" Jin Mingri and leaders of the Zion Church, and reaffirming the United States' global commitment to promote religious freedom and tolerance., committees such as Committee on Appropriations.
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May 13, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextPRESIDENT 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
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:
S. Res. 728
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.