By Meng Hao, Vision Times
As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to meet Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping in Washington on Sept. 24, lawmakers and rights advocates are pressing the administration to make human rights part of a summit expected to focus heavily on trade, AI, Taiwan, and U.S.-China competition.
The push has intensified in Washington, where congressional hearings, religious freedom events, and activist campaigns have sought to ensure political prisoners and religious persecution are not overshadowed by economic and security negotiations.
Activists say the concerns span a range of issues, from the imprisonment of Hong Kong media founder Jimmy Lai and detained Christian leaders to Beijing’s policies in Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as allegations of transnational repression targeting critics outside China’s borders.
RELATED: Survivors of Persecution Urge Trump to Raise Religious Freedom at Xi Summit
Lawmakers press for human rights
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Congress has held several China-focused hearings ahead of the summit. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) held a Sept. 16 hearing focused on imprisoned Hong Kong media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, with his children appealing for his release. The commission said Lai’s case illustrates broader concerns about press freedom, judicial independence, and the use of national security laws in Hong Kong.
The CECC also scheduled a Sept. 22 hearing on prisoners, families, and communities targeted by the CCP, with witnesses including Pastor Ezra Jin, who was released after more than 260 days in detention. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers have also argued that commercial interests should not crowd human rights out of U.S.-China diplomacy.
Tibetan activists and supporters have also mobilized ahead of Xi’s visit. A group of 20 Tibetans and supporters set out from New York for Washington on Sept. 17, planning to arrive before the summit and march from the Chinese Embassy toward the White House.
Organizers say they want Trump to raise Tibet, religious freedom, and concerns over Beijing’s assimilation policies, including the treatment of Tibetan children in state-run boarding schools and restrictions on the Tibetan language. The march also carries symbolic weight for participants because it began near the site where Tibetan activist Logang Janzan died by self-immolation earlier this year.
Religious groups call for prisoner releases
On Sept. 16, the Religious Freedom Institute and International Religious Freedom Summit hosted an event at Washington’s Museum of the Bible titled “CCP Oppression in America and China.” The event brought together representatives of Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Falun Gong practitioners, and Uyghurs to discuss religious persecution inside China and what organizers described as growing pressure extending into the United States.
Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback urged Trump to raise the issue directly with Xi. “We respectfully request that President Trump raise the issue of religious freedom at his upcoming summit with Chairman Xi,” Brownback said.
Pastor Ezra Jin, founder of Beijing’s Zion Church, also leveraged his recent release to raise awareness of prisoners who remain behind bars. Jin said he hoped the summit could help secure the freedom of additional detainees, including church workers and house-church leaders still imprisoned in China.
In July, Jin was released and reunited with his family in California weeks after Trump raised his case directly with Xi during a visit to Beijing. Jin was first detained along with other Zion Church leaders during a sweeping crackdown in October 2025.
A crowded summit agenda
A former Falun Gong detainee, identified as Mr. Huang, brought a Spider-Man toy to the Washington event and said it was among the products he had been forced to manufacture while imprisoned. He said he hoped human rights would be addressed before economic or political issues during the summit.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice rooted in the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Despite being peaceful in nature, the CCP launched a brutal campaign to eradicate the practice in July 1999 after seeing its rapid rise in popularity as a threat to its authoritarian regime. Since then, thousands of practitioners have perished at the hands of Chinese police, with many today still undergoing routine monitoring, arbitrary travel bans, and arrests.
Hong Kong activist Frances Hui also called for Jimmy Lai’s case to receive urgent attention, citing concerns over his health. Lai’s continued imprisonment has already become a focal point in Washington ahead of the summit. The CECC said his case reflects the broader erosion of civil liberties in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed the National Security Law in 2020.
Trump and Xi are expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including trade, AI, Taiwan, supply chains, and geopolitical tensions. Reuters reported that both sides are seeking to preserve a fragile trade truce while managing disputes over technology and Taiwan.
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