H.R. 5303

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5303 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5303

To encourage and support the Department of State's diplomatic advocacy 
efforts on behalf of Gao Zhisheng and other political prisoners in the 
People's Republic of China, including in Hong Kong, and globally.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 11, 2025

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Suozzi, and Mr. Moolenaar) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, 
Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To encourage and support the Department of State's diplomatic advocacy 
efforts on behalf of Gao Zhisheng and other political prisoners in the 
People's Republic of China, including in Hong Kong, and globally.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Framework for Responding to Enforced 
Exile and Detentions through Oversight and Mobilizing Diplomatic 
Support Act'' or ``FREEDOM for Gao Zhisheng and All Political Prisoners 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) Prominent human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng disappeared 
in August 2017, reportedly into state custody, and has been 
subject to various forms of detention since 2006, including 
severe torture, for his work defending religious minorities and 
farmers facing land expropriations and for writing open letters 
condemning the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and 
Christians.
(2) In 2023, lawyer Ding Jiaxi and legal scholar Xu Zhiyong 
were sentenced to 12 and 14 years in prison, respectively, for 
``subversion of state power'' in connection with their advocacy 
for constitutional reform. The United Nations Working Group on 
Arbitrary Detention determined their detentions to be 
arbitrary.
(3) Hong Kong authorities detained Jimmy Lai Chee-ying in 
August 2020 on the charges of ``conspiracy to fraud'' and 
``collusion with a foreign country'', an offense under the Law 
of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National 
Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (NSL). 
Lai is the founder of Apple Daily, a prodemocracy newspaper and 
his detention is believed to be part of a government effort to 
suppress free press and intimidate pro-democracy advocates.
(4) Hong Kong barrister Tonyee Chow Hang-tung was sentenced 
in 2023 to 4.5 months in jail for defying the demands of the 
national security police for information on the disbanded civil 
society group commonly known as Hong Kong Alliance, which 
organized annual vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen 
Massacre. The recent sentence lengthened a 22-month prison term 
Chow received for organizing vigils in 2020 and 2021.
(5) Falun Gong practitioner Xu Na was detained in 2020 
along with 12 others and later given an 8-year sentence for 
allegedly sharing photos of Beijing street scenes during the 
COVID-19 pandemic with an overseas publication and for 
possession of Falun Gong materials at their homes. Xu 
previously served two prison sentences in connection with her 
practice of Falun Gong and in 2008 her husband Yu Zhou died in 
police custody.
(6) Zhou Deyong was detained in 2021 in Shandong Province 
after police raided his home and confiscated Falun Gong 
materials that reportedly belonged to his wife, who was 
previously detained for her religious activities. Authorities 
reportedly prevented Zhou from meeting with his lawyer and 
failed to notify Zhou's family members of his detention 
promptly, in violation of China's Criminal Procedure Law. In 
2023, Zhou was sentenced to eight years in prison for 
``organizing and using a cult to undermine implementation of 
the law''.
(7) Niu Tengyu was detained in 2019 as part of a crackdown 
on users of the internet site EsuWiki, following the alleged 
publication of the personal information of relatives of 
Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping. Niu was held in 
``residential surveillance at a designated location'', during 
which time he was reportedly severely tortured. In late 2020, 
Niu received a 14-year prison sentence.
(8) Yang Chih-yuan was detained in 2022 and accused of 
promoting Taiwan independence and engaging in ``separatist'' 
activities. In 2024, authorities sentenced Yang to nine years 
in prison. Yang's alleged ``separatist'' activities took place 
between 2008 and 2020 while he was in Taiwan. He is the first 
Taiwanese national to be charged with ``separatism'' under 
Article 103 of the PRC Criminal Law.
(9) Ruan Xiaohuan was detained in 2021 in connection with 
his social media account and his blog, where he provided 
anonymous guidance for circumventing government internet 
censorship and wrote political analysis critical of Chinese 
authorities, including coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen protests. 
He also separately documented high-ranking officials' hidden 
wealth. He was sentenced in 2023 to seven years in prison for 
``inciting subversion of state power''.
(10) Tibetan community leader Anya Sengdra was initially 
detained in 2018 in connection with his claims that local 
officials had misappropriated poverty alleviation funds meant 
for Tibetan nomads. In 2019 he was sentenced to 7 years in 
prison, accused by officials of ``disturbing public order'' for 
leading groups to discuss anti-corruption and environmental 
advocacy. Authorities delayed his expected September 2025 
release from prison.
(11) Artist Gao Zhen remains detained for ``insulting or 
slandering heroes and martyrs,'' reportedly in connection with 
his artwork, including art with the theme of reassessing Mao 
Zedong's rule. Gao is a lawful permanent resident of the United 
States, and his seven-year-old son is an American citizen, who 
is prevented, via an ``exit ban'' from leaving China along with 
his mother.
(12) Renagul Gheni, a Uyghur elementary school teacher, was 
detained in 2018 and later given a 17-year sentence reportedly 
for offering prayers at her father's funeral and her possession 
of a Quran.
(13) Uyghur ethnographer Rahile Dawut was reportedly 
sentenced to life in prison on a charge related to 
``endangering state security''. Friends and other observers 
suggested authorities may have detained her due to her efforts 
to preserve Uyghur culture and heritage, or her foreign 
connections. She formerly taught at Xinjiang University and is 
well regarded for her scholarly research on Uyghur cultural 
traditions.
(14) Meryem Emet was detained in 2017 and later sentenced 
to 20 years in prison on an unknown charge reportedly related 
to her marriage to a Turkish national, and her having met and 
spoken with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during 
his 2012 visit to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
(15) Lobsang Trinle, a monk at Kirti Monastery in Sichuan 
Province, was detained by police in 2021 and sentenced to 5 
years in prison reportedly for sharing the 14th Dalai Lama's 
teachings and writings about the Dalai Lama with other 
Tibetans.
(16) A Tibetan writer known by the pen name Sabuche, 
Thubten Lodroe was detained and later given a 4-year and 5-
month sentence in 2021 reportedly for his writings on Tibetan 
society, politics, and language rights. He was reportedly 
subjected to abuse in prison, including forced labor, and in 
2024 was hospitalized in serious condition.
(17) Wang Yi, pastor of the unregistered Protestant ``Early 
Rain Covenant Church'' was detained in 2018 after drafting an 
open letter denouncing restrictions on religious freedom that 
was signed by over 400 other Chinese church leaders and he was 
later given a 9-year sentence for ``subversion of state 
power''. The ``Early Rain'' church was forcibly closed as part 
of a broader crackdown on unregistered churches and places of 
worship in China.
(18) Hao Zhiwei, a pastor at an unregistered Protestant 
church was arrested and in 2022 given an 8-year sentence 
because she refused to join the government-approved Protestant 
Three-Self Patriotic Movement or Chinese Christian Council.
(19) Peng Lifa was detained shortly after he hung banners 
from Sitong Bridge in Beijing calling for the removal of Xi 
Jinping, calling for elections, and criticizing China's harsh 
zero-COVID policy measures. Peng's whereabouts and condition, 
or any potential charges against him, remain unknown.
(20) Li Kangmeng was detained in connection with her 
participation in the ``white paper'' protests against harsh 
zero-COVID policy measures. Multiple reports assert that Li 
Kangmeng was the first to raise a sheet of white paper as a 
form of protest. The legal basis for Li's detention and the 
location of her detention site are unknown.
(21) Dong Yuyu was detained in 2022 while at lunch with a 
Japanese diplomat and placed in residential surveillance at a 
designated location and later charged with ``espionage''. Dong 
Yuyu is a well-known journalist, who had worked for the New 
York Times and Chinese publications, and held academic 
fellowship at various universities in Japan and at Harvard 
University. His family has not been allowed to meet with him 
since his detention.
(22) The number of political prisoners in the People's 
Republic of China remains unknown, given active digital 
censorship and free speech restrictions.
(23) The Political Prisoner Database of the Congressional-
Executive Commission on China is a valuable source of 
information on political prisoners in the People's Republic of 
China and currently contains 2,506 active cases of detention, 
referring to political and religious prisoners currently known 
or believed to be detained or imprisoned, or under coercive 
controls.
(24) A bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers' 
nominated a group of political prisoners in the People's 
Republic of China, including Hong Kong for the 2023 Nobel Peace 
Prize, including Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Joshua Wong 
Chi-fung, Tonyee Chow Hang-tung, Gwyenth Ho Kwai.lam, and Lee 
Cheuk-yan, and mainland China's Zhang Zhan, Peng Lifa, and Li 
Kangmeng. The nominations honored these ardent champions of 
peace, freedom and human rights and focus international 
advocacy on efforts for their release.
(25) The Chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission 
on China nominated Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi, Ilham Tohti, and 
Jimmy Lai for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
(26) The People's Republic of China detains the family 
members of United States citizens and permanent residents in 
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, including Gulshan Abbas, 
Ekpar Aset, and the family members of former Radio Free Asia 
employees, and uses these detentions and other forms of 
intimidation and harassment to silence advocacy on behalf of 
their loved ones.
(27) The People's Republic of China detains more Americans 
than any other country.
(28) Repressive governments around the world continue to 
detain an unknown number of individuals for their exercise of 
internationally recognized human rights, including in Cuba, 
Belarus, Hong Kong, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, 
Turkey, and Vietnam, among others. It is a global problem in 
need of a global response from the United States and its allies 
and partners.

SEC. 3. STATEMENTS OF POLICY.

(a) Use Available Diplomatic Tools To Seek the Release of Political 
Prisoners.--It is the policy of the United States to--
(1) use all available diplomatic tools to press for the 
release of political prisoners, including by submitting 
prisoner lists at all appropriate bilateral meetings and 
raising individual cases of concern with foreign officials, 
because experience shows that consistently raising political 
prisoner cases can lead to improved treatment in detention, 
lighter sentences, and, in some cases, release from custody or 
imprisonment;
(2) seek the release of unjustly detained or wrongfully 
detained Americans detained in the People's Republic of China;
(3) end the use of ``exit bans'' by the Government of the 
People's Republic of China that are used to pressure United 
States citizens to get their relatives or associates to return 
to China to face criminal charges or to settle commercial 
disputes--such bans violate international norms, including 
Article 35 of the U.S.-China Consular Convention; and
(4) use the voice and vote and influence of the United 
States at the United Nations and other multilateral 
organizations to--
(A) highlight the cases of political prisoners 
worldwide;
(B) document the human rights violations that lead 
to the arrest and imprisonment of political prisoners 
globally; and
(C) support investigations by United Nations Human 
Rights Experts into the case of political prisoners, 
their treatment in detention, and harassment and 
surveillance of their family members while they are 
imprisoned.
(b) Hold Government of the People's Republic of China Officials 
Responsible for Arbitrary Detention.--It is the policy of the United 
States to consider individuals who are responsible for, complicit in, 
or directly engaged in the arbitrary detention or torture of Gao 
Zhisheng and other political prisoners--or the wrongful detention of 
United States citizens--as having committed gross violations of human 
rights. Such individuals may be held accountable through the 
application of sanctions as described in--
(1) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 
(22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.);
(2) the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 
(Public Law 116-76);
(3) the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (Public Law 116-149);
(4) the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (Public Law 
116-145);
(5) Executive Order No. 14078 of July 19, 2022, 
``Bolstering Efforts to Bring Hostages and Wrongfully Detained 
United States Nationals Home;''; and
(6) other applicable sanctions authorities of the United 
States.
(c) Actively Champion for the Release of Gao Zhisheng.--
(1) In general.--It is the policy of the United States--
(A) to seek the release of human rights lawyer Gao 
Zhisheng; and
(B) to hold accountable those officials of the 
People's Republic of China who are responsible for Gao 
Zhisheng's torture and arbitrary detention and seek to 
reunify him with his family who are United States 
citizens and residents.
(2) Additional policy statement.--The United States is 
committed to--
(A) vigorously advocating for Gao Zhisheng at the 
highest levels of government, including through 
diplomacy conducted by relevant bureaus and offices 
within the Department of State and other agencies 
across the United States Government;
(B) ensuring sustained advocacy over time across 
bilateral and multilateral fora to secure Gao's 
unconditional release, proof of life and whereabouts, 
access to legal counsel, communication with family--
including relatives in the United States--and, if 
appropriate, humanitarian parole;
(C) working in concert with United States allies 
and partners, including through mechanisms at the 
United Nations, to increase international pressure on 
the People's Republic of China to release Gao Zhisheng 
and uphold his human rights;
(D) seeking concrete responses from officials of 
the People's Republic of China to United States and 
allied advocacy efforts, especially on matters related 
to Gao's health, location, communication, and legal 
status;
(E) employing all appropriate diplomatic, legal, 
and sanctions tools, including available human rights 
sanctions authorities, to hold accountable officials of 
the People's Republic of China complicit in the human 
rights violations committed against Gao Zhisheng; and
(F) maintaining transparency with Congress 
regarding past and ongoing advocacy efforts by 
submitting a timely report, in unclassified form (with 
a classified annex as needed), detailing such efforts, 
responses received, coordination with allies, and any 
use of sanctions authorities to promote justice in this 
case.

SEC. 4. DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY ON POLITICAL PRISONER ADVOCACY.

(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary's 
designee, shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on a 
strategy to embed political prisoner advocacy into the critical mission 
plan of all United States Government agencies, diplomatic posts, and 
regional bureaus in the Department of State.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The strategy shall include the 
following matters:
(1) Cases of concern involving individuals arbitrarily 
detained for exercising internationally recognized human 
rights.
(2) Bilateral diplomatic efforts to secure the release of 
Gao Zhisheng and other political prisoners, including a record 
of cases raised and the relevant foreign government officials 
engaged.
(3) Multilateral diplomatic efforts to advocate for the 
release of political prisoners, including engagement within the 
United Nations system and coordination of diplomatic advocacy 
and sanctions measures with allies and partners to maximize 
international pressure.
(4) Details on efforts to secure the release of Jimmy Lai 
in Hong Kong.
(5) Details on Department of State efforts to support human 
rights defenders, independent media, and the families of 
political prisoners and the resources needed to conduct such 
support.
(6) Use of accountability tools, including the Global 
Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and other targeted 
measures, to hold government officials accountable for 
complicity in the arbitrary detention of political prisoners.
(7) Public diplomacy efforts designed to frame advocacy for 
political prisoners as a United States national interest and to 
highlight human stories of political prisoners that evade 
censorship and other digital restrictions put in place by 
foreign governments to hide complicity in arbitrary detention, 
torture, and other gross violations of universally recognized 
human rights.
(8) Progress on the preparation of a Global Prisoner 
Registry as required by section 5 of this Act.
(9) An assessment of resource gaps or institutional 
deficiencies that adversely affect the Department of State's 
ability to advocate effectively for political prisoners in the 
People's Republic of China and globally.
(c) Form.--The briefings required by subsection (a) shall be 
conducted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex if 
necessary to protect sources and methods used to acquire such 
information.

SEC. 5. GLOBAL POLITICAL PRISONER REGISTRY.

Section 873 of the Admiral James W. Nance and Meg Donovan Foreign 
Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 (Appendix G to 
Public Law 106-113; 113 Stat. 1501A-474) is amended--
(1) in the section heading to read as follows: ``global 
political prisoner registry.'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``in the People's Republic of 
China'' and inserting ``held by foreign governments 
worldwide''; and
(B) by striking ``Prisoner Information Registry for 
the People's Republic of China'' and inserting ``Global 
Political Prisoner Registry'';
(3) in subsection (b), by striking ``of prisoners in the 
People's Republic of China'' and inserting ``of such 
prisoners'';
(4) in subsection (c), by striking ``regarding political 
prisoners in the People's Republic of China'' and inserting 
``regarding political prisoners and those detained for 
exercising the rights to the freedom of religion around the 
world''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Public Access.--To the extent practicable and consistent with 
the protection of sensitive information, the Secretary shall make 
information from the Global Political Prisoner Registry available for 
use in diplomatic advocacy by United States Government officials and 
Members of Congress.
``(e) Definition.--In this section, the term `political prisoner' 
means an individual imprisoned or detained by a foreign government 
primarily for seeking to exercise internationally recognized human 
rights, including because of the individual's political or religious 
beliefs, peaceful expression, or opposition to that government; and''.

SEC. 6. POLITICAL PRISONER ISSUE BRIEFS.

(a) In General.--The Congressional-Executive Commission on China 
shall prepare and make available issue briefs to Members of Congress, 
upon request, to facilitate discussions of political prisoner cases and 
unjustly detained Americans with officials from the Government of the 
People's Republic of China. Such issue briefs shall be available on the 
website of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, as 
appropriate, and subject to relevant privacy concerns.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section 
for each fiscal years 2026 through 2029.
(c) Clarification.--The issue briefs required by subsection (a) 
shall be in addition to and not replace the information required by 
section 108(d) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
U.S.C. 6417(d)).

SEC. 7. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
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