119th (2025–2027)
H.R. 5303
H.R. 5303, the FREEDOM for Gao Zhisheng and All Political Prisoners Act, directs the U.S. State Department to prioritize diplomatic efforts to secure the release of political prisoners held in China, Hong Kong, and globally, with specific focus on cases like human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and Hong Kong newspaper founder Jimmy Lai who were detained for activities such as pro-democracy advocacy, religious practice, and journalism. The bill requires the Secretary of State to develop a comprehensive strategy for embedding political prisoner advocacy across all federal agencies and diplomatic posts and to brief Congress within 120 days, while also establishing a Global Political Prisoner Registry to track arbitrary detentions worldwide. U.S. policy under this bill would leverage sanctions, international coordination through the United Nations, and negotiations to pressure for prisoner releases and end China's use of exit bans against U.S. citizens. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China is directed to prepare briefing materials on specific political prisoner cases for use in discussions with Chinese officials, making this a coordinated effort across the government to address what the bill characterizes as systematic human rights violations.