FREEDOM for Gao Zhisheng and All Political Prisoners Act

This bill pushes the United States to speak up for people jailed for their beliefs, speech, or religion around the world. It tells the State Department to make political‑prisoner advocacy a core part of its work, to coordinate with allies and the United Nations, and to use tools like targeted sanctions against officials responsible for unjust detentions. It highlights specific cases, including Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai, and notes that China currently detains more Americans than any other country .

The bill would turn a China‑focused prisoner list into a Global Political Prisoner Registry, share information from it for diplomatic advocacy by U.S. officials and Members of Congress, and define a “political prisoner” as someone jailed by a foreign government for exercising basic rights like peaceful expression or religious belief. It also directs Congress’s China commission to prepare easy‑to‑use issue briefs for lawmakers, some posted online as appropriate, to help raise cases with Chinese officials.

• Who is affected

  • People imprisoned for their beliefs, speech, or faith worldwide, and Americans held abroad and their families .
  • U.S. diplomats and lawmakers who will use the registry and issue briefs to press for releases .

• What changes

  • The State Department must brief Congress on a strategy to make this advocacy part of every embassy and bureau’s mission, track cases, work with allies and the UN, support families, and use sanctions tools when needed .
  • A Global Political Prisoner Registry replaces the China‑only version, with information shared for diplomatic advocacy by U.S. officials and Members of Congress.
  • Congress’s China commission will prepare case briefs for lawmakers to use in talks with Chinese officials; funding is authorized to support this work.
  • The bill also calls for ending China’s use of “exit bans” that pressure U.S. citizens by trapping their relatives in China.

• When

  • The strategy briefing is due within 120 days after the bill becomes law.
  • Funding for the issue‑briefs work is authorized for fiscal years 2026–2029.