Executive Committee on China Chairman Chris Smith, R-N.J., plans to advocate for the release of American citizens and religious advocates detained in China in a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the committee held a hearing that included the testimony of Pastor Ezra Jin, who spent 200 days in a Chinese prison for running a non-state-sponsored church. Jin was released after President Donald Trump met with Xi Jinping in Beijing in May and raised the issue. But others, like Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt, remain imprisoned in China. Tuesday’s hearing included testimony from family members of Wells and Hunt
In an interview with the Daily Signal, Smith said that he’s optimistic about the call’s success, describing Rubio as a “humanitarian at heart” who will prioritize the issue of imprisoned worshippers when speaking with Trump ahead of Thursday’s summit.
“He’s very successful, he’s a humanitarian at heart, he’ll see why this is so important,” Smith stated.
Smith now sees this call as the best opportunity to alert Trump about the detention of other pastors and Americans imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party ahead of the president’s Thursday meeting with the Chinese leader.
Smith added that he will tell the secretary to prioritize “these issues” during the summit.
“How many times do you [the United States] get to talk to Xi Jinping like this?” Smith added.
Smith continued, adding that if the president were to raise the issue of those wrongfully detained by the Chinese government, Xi might actually follow through.
“He’s in charge of that country. He could do it tomorrow and tell the other Communist Party officials to get back in line,” the chairman continued. “He could make this happen, and Trump can help him to make an offer.”
The State Department did not respond to the Daily Signal’s inquiry on whether the call will occur.
Steve Yates, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Signal that Trump has proven successful in negotiating the release of Chinese prisoners and should continue to do so.
“I support the effort. President Trump has proven able to get tough cases released from other parts of the world, contrary to what most of his critics will grant, and far more effectively than most of his predecessors,” Yates told the Daily Signal.
“He also succeeded in getting Pastor Jin released after the May summit. So why not continue with this meaningful effort?” Yates added.
The senior research fellow continued, stating that if both leaders, especially Jinping, want to highlight strong diplomatic relations and their commitment to a humanitarian cause, they should proceed with the release of such prisoners.
“While not an American citizen, I think the Jimmy Lai case is the strongest prospect for a humanitarian release and would send the strongest signal that the personal relationship between the two leaders matters more than summitry and economic negotiations,” Yates concluded.
Andrew Harding, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, added in a statement to the Daily Signal that by the president advocating for the release of the prisoners during his meeting with the Chinese leader, it could produce “tangible outcomes” and determine “whether China follows through on concrete actions.”
“Securing the release of wrongfully detained Americans, including cases such as Min Zin, or persecuted Christians, would be a low-cost step China could take to signal that it is serious about stabilizing the bilateral relationship,” Harding continued. “It would also serve as a test of whether Beijing is willing to back its calls for more stable U.S.-China relations with meaningful actions rather than rhetoric.”
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
