Chris Smith

By Jasmine Baehr Published October 2, 2026 at 5:30am EDT FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 128 Republican lawmakers is pressing the federal government to scrutinize Planned Parenthood's taxpayer funding and potentially launch an investigation into the organization and its affiliates. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., led the bicameral effort, asking Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General T. March Bell to review Planned Parenthood's federal funding and determine whether the organization and its affiliates have complied with federal laws and funding requirements. "We write to request that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) review and, if appropriate, initiate an investigation into the activities of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. and the organization's affiliates," the lawmakers wrote. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., speaks during an event on Capitol Hill. Smith and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., led 128 Republican lawmakers in asking the HHS inspector general to review Planned Parenthood’s federal funding and activities.(Getty Images) Their request casts a rather wide net. The lawmakers want the OIG to scrutinize funding flowing through HHS programs, grants, contracts and sub-awards and determine whether evidence exists of fraud, waste, abuse, misrepresentation or other violations affecting federal health programs. If misconduct is uncovered, they want the watchdog to consider consequences ranging from administrative remedies and suspension to exclusion from federal healthcare programs or referrals to other authorities. "Planned Parenthood and its affiliates have faced serious allegations involving the use of federal funds and compliance with federal law. Those allegations deserve a thorough review," Lankford said. Republican lawmakers are asking the HHS inspector general to review Planned Parenthood’s federal funding and compliance with federal requirements.(Boston Globe via Getty Images, File) "The HHS Inspector General should follow the facts, determine whether federal laws and funding requirements have been violated, and hold accountable anyone who has misused taxpayer dollars," he added. The push comes as the Small Business Administration (SBA) separately reviews more than $88 million in COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans received by 38 Planned Parenthood affiliates. The lawmakers cited the SBA action in their letter, characterizing it as an investigation into whether Planned Parenthood affiliates "illegally received $88 million" in pandemic loans. SBA has described its action as a review of whether the affiliates were eligible for the loans. The review itself is not a finding that the affiliates violated the law. But the lawmakers want federal scrutiny to go well beyond the pandemic loans. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., co-led a bicameral letter asking the HHS inspector general to review Planned Parenthood’s federal funding and, if appropriate, launch an investigation into the organization and its affiliates.(Getty Images) They are asking the OIG to examine Planned Parenthood's broader HHS funding and coordinate with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on what they described as a "comprehensive review" of the organization's activities. HHS-OIG told Fox News Digital Wednesday evening that it had not yet received the letter. "We have not received the letter and will review it for appropriate action once received," HHS-OIG said. Smith, co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, said the scrutiny was "long overdue," citing allegations involving federal funding, reporting requirements, sexual exploitation and fetal tissue. Activists opposing funding for Planned Parenthood demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, via Getty Images, File) "It is long overdue for a comprehensive investigation and review, and I urge the HHS OIG to look closely to determine whether it has violated federal standards for federal funding recipients," Smith said. The congressional letter also points to reports alleging failures to comply with mandatory reporting requirements involving suspected child abuse or neglect. The lawmakers are asking federal officials to examine those allegations. They have not been established as findings by HHS-OIG. "Given the significant taxpayer resources that flow through federal health and human services programs, it is critical that recipient organizations operate with transparency, integrity, and full compliance with federal standards," the lawmakers wrote. The lawmakers closed by asking OIG to coordinate across the federal government to conduct a "comprehensive review" of Planned Parenthood's activities. "Thank you for your continued commitment to protecting the integrity of federal health programs and safeguarding taxpayer dollars," they wrote. Planned Parenthood did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. This article was published on October 2, 2026 and can be found online at:

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) today led 126 Members of Congress in sending a letter to T. March Bell, the Inspector General (IG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), urging his Office to review and investigate the activities and federal funding streams of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. and its affiliates. “Serious concerns have long been raised regarding the organization’s compliance with applicable federal laws, regulations, and program requirements governing the receipt and use of federal funds,” the Republican lawmakers write. “In particular, these concerns relate to whether Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. and the organization’s affiliates have adhered to applicable requirements governing program integrity, financial accountability, and the proper use of funds provided through HHS-administered programs,” they continue. Rep. Smith, Co-Chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, said: “Planned Parenthood should not receive taxpayer dollars. Since 1970, it has killed over ten million unborn babies in its clinics—and today exterminates over 1,000 unborn babies every single day. Moreover, as the author of our Nation’s first anti-human trafficking law, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) (PL 106-386), I remain deeply concerned by Live Action’s credible accusations against Planned Parenthood involving its affiliates’ enabling of human sex trafficking. In addition to reports of covering up and perpetuating sexual exploitation and abuse, Planned Parenthood has been haunted by allegations of trafficking fetal tissue, fraudulently using federal funds, and violating health codes. Aided by allies in Congress, the media, and academia, Planned Parenthood has largely escaped scrutiny and accountability, all while fostering a culture of death, denial, disrespect and discrimination against babies. It is long overdue for a comprehensive investigation and review, and I urge the HHS OIG to look closely to determine whether it has violated federal standards for federal funding recipients.” Sen. Lankford, Chairman of the Senate Values Action Team (VAT), said: “Congress has taken action to ensure taxpayer dollars are not funding organizations that perform abortions, but our work to protect taxpayers and ensure federal law is followed does not stop there. Planned Parenthood and its affiliates have faced serious allegations involving the use of federal funds and compliance with federal law. Those allegations deserve a thorough review. The HHS Inspector General should follow the facts, determine whether federal laws and funding requirements have been violated, and hold accountable anyone who has misused taxpayer dollars.” In the bicameral letter—first reported by Fox News Digital—the 128 lawmakers cite the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) recent investigation into “whether Planned Parenthood affiliates illegally received $88 million in loans during the COVID-19 pandemic,” and they raise concerns about “other reports of fraud, making false statements, violating federal criminal laws, and knowingly failing to disclose violations of criminal law.” The Members of Congress further note that “given the significant taxpayer resources that flow through federal health and human services programs, it is critical that recipient organizations operate with transparency, integrity, and full compliance with federal standards.” The lawmakers go on to urge IG Bell to review the funding streams for Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, including HHS programs, grants, contracts, or subawards; assess whether the organization and its affiliates have complied with applicable statutory, regulatory, and grant conditions associated with those funds; and determine what enforcement actions may be warranted if misconduct—such as waste, fraud, abuse, misrepresentation, or other violations affecting federal health programs—is identified. “We also ask that the OIG coordinate with relevant oversight bodies within the Department, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of Management and Budget, to ensure a comprehensive review of the organization’s activities. Thank you for your continued commitment to protecting the integrity of federal health programs and safeguarding taxpayer dollars,” the co-signatories conclude. Cosigners (128): Aderholt, Robert; Alford, Mark; Arrington, Jodey; Babin, Brian; Baird, James; Banks, Jim; Bice, Stephanie; Biggs, Andy; Biggs, Sheri; Bilirakis, Gus; Blackburn, Marsha; Bost, Mike; Brecheen, Josh; Britt, Katie Boyd; Budd, Ted; Burchett, Tim; Burlison, Eric; Cammack, Kat; Cline, Ben; Cloud, Michael; Clyde, Andrew; Cramer, Kevin; Crane, Elijah; Crapo, Mike; Cruz, Ted; Daines, Steve; Davidson, Warren; Downing, Troy; Ernst, Joni; Estes, Ron; Ezell, Mike; Fedorchak, Julie; Feenstra, Randy; Finstad, Brad; Fischbach, Michelle; Fischer, Deb; Fitzgerald, Scott; Fleischmann, Charles; Flood, Mike; Fong, Vince; Foxx, Virginia; Franklin, Scott; Fulcher, Russ; Gill, Brandon; Goldman, Craig; Gooden, Lance; Gosar, Paul; Graham, Darline; Grassley, Charles; Griffith, H.; Grothman, Glenn; Guest, Michael; Hageman, Harriet; Haridopolos, Mike; Harris, Andy; Harris, Mark; Harshbarger, Hawley, Josh; Diana; Hern, Kevin; Higgins, Clay; Hill, J.; Houchin, Erin; Hudson, Richard; Hyde-Smith, Cindy; Jack, Brian; Jackson, Ronny; Johnson, Dusty; Jordan, Jim; Joyce, John; Justice, James C.; Kelly, Mike; Langworthy, Nicholas; Lankford, James; Latta, Robert; Lee, Mike; Letlow, Julia; Lummis, Cynthia M.; Mann, Tracey; Marshall, Roger; McDowell, Addison; McGuire, John; Messmer, Mark; Miller, Mary; Moody, Ashley; Moolenaar, John; Moore, Barry; Moore, Blake; Moore, Riley; Moore, Tim; Moran, Nathaniel; Moreno, Bernie; Norman, Ralph; Onder, Robert; Palmer, Gary; Patronis, Jimmy; Perry, Scott; Pfluger, August; Ricketts, Pete; Risch, James; Rogers, Mike; Rose, John; Rounds, Mike; Rouzer, David; Roy, Chip; Rulli, Michael; Rutherford, John; Schmidt, Derek; Scott, Austin; Scott, Rick; Self, Keith; Sessions, Pete; Shreve, Jefferson; Simpson, Michael; Smith, Christopher; Stauber, Pete; Steube, W.; Strong, Dale; Stutzman, Marlin; Tenney, Claudia; Thompson, Glenn; Tuberville, Tommy; Van Epps, Matt; Weber, Randy; Webster, Daniel; Westerman, Bruce; Wilson, Joe; Womack, Steve ###

Today, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) led a group of federal, state, and local officials and experts in surveying the extensive damage to Manasquan, Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head, and Ocean Gate beaches following last week’s severe Nor’easter, which caused significant flooding and beach erosion. During the tour, which spanned both Monmouth and Ocean counties, Smith was joined by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 2 Administrator Chris Hartnett; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Deputy Commissioner Joe Seebode; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Philadelphia District Commander Lt. Col. Ryan A. Baum; USACE NY District Project Manager Jason Shea; New Jersey State Police Operations Officer Major James Boland; Monmouth County Sherriff Shaun Golden; Ocean County Sherriff Mike Mastronardy; NJ LD-10 Assemblyman Paul Kanitra; Ocean County Commissioner Jennifer Bacchione; Manasquan Mayor Mike Mangan; Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis; Ocean Gate Mayor Robert Curtin; and numerous elected and municipal officials representing Manasquan, Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head, and Ocean Gate. “Today, an impressive, comprehensive group of experts—with extensive backgrounds in environmental, structural engineering, and beach replenishment initiatives—came together to not only survey the severe damage wrought by last week’s Nor’easter, but also to collaborate on creative solutions for immediate needs and future resilience efforts,” said Smith. “Municipal officials and local leaders came fully prepared, offering tangible examples of the damages they sustained and providing ideas for new initiatives that could bolster their towns’ resilience against future storms,” he continued. Smith noted that the federal and state representatives attending the tour were fully engaged and eager to find new ways to assist, boosting the level of teamwork between our federal, state, and local governments. Many officials commented that while their towns sustained damage from the Nor’easter, it was largely mitigated in some areas due to preexisting protections implemented after previous storms. “I am truly encouraged by the intergovernmental partnership and determination demonstrated today. Building upon what we’ve learned from previous storms and tapping into the continued knowledge and expertise shared today, I look forward to working alongside our great state and local officials to strengthen our shore communities’ resilience and preparation for future severe weather events,” concluded Smith. From left to right: NJDEP Deputy Commissioner Joe Seebode, Bay Head Councilman Jim Gates, Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis, Bay Head Council President Dennis Shaning, Ocean County Commissioner Jennifer Bacchione, Rep. Chris Smith, USACE Philadelphia District Commander Lt. Col. Ryan A. Baum, and FEMA Region 2 Administrator Chris Hartnett. Rep. Smith with USACE NY District Project Manager Jason Shea. Rep. Smith, NJDEP Deputy Commissioner Seebode, USACE NY District Project Manager Shea, Monmouth County Sherriff Shaun Golden, Manasquan Mayor Michael Mangan, Manasquan Councilman Brian Holly, and other federal, state, and local officials after surveying the beach erosion in Manasquan, NJ on October 2nd, 2026. Rep. Smith, Assemblyman Kanitra, NJDEP Deputy Commissioner Seebode, Lt. Col. Baum, and Administrator Hartnett with local officials in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) stands with Ocean Gate officials. From left to right: Councilman Mark Haug, Councilman Rick Zeiser, Rep. Chris Smith, and Mayor Robert Curtin. Nor’easter damage in Ocean Gate, NJ on October 2nd, 2026. Nor’easter-induced beach erosion in Bay Head, NJ on October 2nd, 2026. ###

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, led 38 Members of Congress in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., fully supporting and urging the implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children—issued during his first term—to protect premature infants from discrimination. “All infants—especially those with disabilities or conditions requiring life-sustaining care after birth—deserve love, compassion, and equal protection under the law,” said Smith. “I am grateful for Sec. Kennedy and President Trump’s ongoing work to help those in need—and through the full implementation of the Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children EO, we can continue to protect and defend the most vulnerable among us.” In the bicameral letter, first reported by the Washington Examiner, the Republican lawmakers cite the heartbreaking case of McKenna West—a surrogate pressured to abort the baby she was carrying after a 20-week ultrasound diagnosed a serious, but treatable, heart condition—as evidence of “the need for quick federal action on this matter.” Although Ms. West says that she faced pressure to abort from the baby’s biological parents, she refused and offered to raise the baby herself or find him a loving home. She relocated to Texas to be near a hospital equipped to provide the baby with lifesaving care after he was born. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in McKenna’s case, and a Texas judge issued an order directing that the baby receive life-sustaining care after birth and preventing his removal from the state of Texas. “We are grateful that Texas law recognized and protected the rights and personhood of Ms. West’s surrogate baby and acted to save his life. Sadly, this protection is not uniform in all the states across our nation,” the Members of Congress write. “Leadership from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is needed to ensure that all vulnerable infants receive equal protection under the law, instead of being at the mercy of health care systems that may unjustly declare them unworthy of life.” The lawmakers then urge Secretary Kennedy to elevate the directives embedded within President Trump’s EO on Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children—issued on September 25, 2020, and never formally rescinded by the Biden Administration—which clarifies that all individuals, including vulnerable infants, are protected under federal law, such as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) (42 U.S.C. 1395dd), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794), and The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (1 U.S.C. 8). The co-signatories note that the directives for the HHS Secretary in the EO “offer important opportunities to ensure vulnerable newborns, including newborns with diagnosed disabilities, are receiving the care they deserve, no matter where in the United States they are born.” They also urge Secretary Kennedy to consider reissuing a rule highlighting federal law protecting premature infants and adults with disabilities from discrimination. In January 2021, during President Trump’s first Administration, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) had issued a proposed rule, entitled “Special Responsibilities of Medicare Hospitals in Emergency Cases and Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Critical Health and Human Service Programs or Activities.” House Cosigners (30): Reps. Smith (R-NJ), Cammack (R-FL), Wagner (R-MO), Aderholt (R-AL), Barr (R-KY), Biggs (R-AZ), Biggs (R-SC), Bost (R-IL), Brecheen (R-OK), Cline (R-VA), Cloud (R-TX), Clyde (R-GA), Estes (R-KS), Fulcher (R-ID), Grothman (R-WI), Harris (R-MD), Higgins (R-LA), Johnson (R-SD), Joyce (R-PA), Latta (R-OH), Mann (R-KS), McDowell (R-NC), McGuire (R-VA), Miller (R-IL), Moore (R-UT), Norman (R-SC), Onder (R-MO), Palmer (R-AL), Rose (R-TN), Thompson (R-PA) Senate Cosigners (9): Sens. Lankford (R-OK), Hyde-Smith (R-MS), D. Graham (R-SC), Blackburn (R-TN), Lummis (R-WY), Justice (R-WV), Daines (R-MT), Banks (R-IN), Ricketts (R-NE) ###

On Friday, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) will join FEMA Region 2 Administrator Christopher Hartnett and local officials in surveying the extensive damage wrought by the severe Nor’easter from September 25-28, 2026. “Last week, New Jersey—and especially the shore communities within our Fourth Congressional District—experienced a severe Nor’easter, bringing heavy rains, damaging winds, and substantial, prolonged flooding. The storm also caused significant and dangerous beach erosion, as well as thousands of power outages across the state,” said Smith, who secured millions of dollars in federal grants for Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts. As the Nor’easter ripped through New Jersey, several communities in Ocean County were isolated from the mainland, first responders conducted hundreds of rescues from flooded homes and vehicles, and many schools in both Monmouth and Ocean County remained closed on Monday, September 28th. “As the impacted towns in my district take stock of the damage and needs to rebuild, I am committed to helping our local leaders through this tenuous process—first, by surveying the damage first-hand and documenting the storm’s impacts to residents’ safety and quality of life,” continued Smith. “While we still do not know the full extent of the Nor’easter’s damage, this visit will give us a greater understanding of how the federal government can best assist our shore communities during this perilous time.” ###

By Rep. Chris Smith Published September 30, 2026 at 5:00am ET Fifty years ago — on Sept. 30, 1976 — Congress first enacted an amendment offered by the late, great Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois to prohibit federal Medicaid funds from being used to subsidize the killing of unborn children by abortion. During debate in the House, Henry said: “An innocent, defenseless human life, in a caring and humane society deserves better than to be flushed down a toilet or burned in an incinerator.” “The promise of America,” he said, “is that life is not just for the privileged, the planned, or the perfect.” According to Dr. Michael J. New of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, approximately 2.7 million people are alive today — and each year, another 60,000 evade the irreversible consequence of abortion and survive — because of Henry Hyde’s amendment. Thanks to Henry Hyde, 2.7 million people — who would have otherwise been aborted — have experienced the joys and challenges of life and opportunities to thrive. Beginning in 1981, I had the honor of serving alongside Henry Hyde in the House of Representatives. He was brilliant, compassionate, tenacious, incredibly articulate, self-effacing, a man of great wisdom and humor — a one-of-a-kind lawmaker — who, to this day, remains the greatest defender of unborn children and their mothers. He was so good at debate, you always wanted him to be your closer. Henry believed sound moral principles and courage should inform and guide the decisions we make in government, and he addressed the 1990 class of incoming freshmen members of Congress with these words: “This may sound odd, even ironic. You are here in the flush of victory. And yet it is precisely now that I ask you to contemplate the possibility of defeat — perhaps even the necessity of defeat. … If you don’t know the principle, or the policy, for which you are willing to lose your office, then you are going to do damage here.” No one wants to lose an election. However, we do great “damage” when we sacrifice our core convictions on the altar of political expediency. It’s truly sad that far too many politicians — who know better — have abandoned unborn children and their mothers to the abortionists for political gain or upward advancement. The Hyde Amendment is under relentless legislative assault. Yet polling data consistently reflect what the 2026 Marist Poll found: A significant majority of people do not support taxpayer funding for abortion. As pro-life advocates work to replace abortion violence — the culture of death — with compassion and empathy for women and children, the Hyde Amendment continues to stand as one of the most important human rights policies of the past 50 years. However, the billion-dollar abortion industry continues to cleverly market the cheap sophistry of choice, while going to extraordinary lengths to downplay the suffering and pain experienced by the battered baby victims in the womb — as well as the coercion or pressure exerted on the mother to end the life of her unborn child. The abortion pill — mifepristone — kills the baby by starving the child to death, while other methods of abortion dismember and decapitate the baby. We now know that mifepristone is extremely dangerous to women. The Ethics and Public Policy Center conducted the largest-known study of the abortion pill ever, and is based on analysis of data from an all-payer insurance claims database. This database includes 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions from 2017 to 2023, and found that 10.93% of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion. The real-world rate of serious adverse events following mifepristone abortions is at least 22 times as high as the summary figure of “less than 0.5%” in clinical trials reported on the drug label. Someday, future generations will look back and wonder how and why such a seemingly smart and enlightened society could have permitted and perpetrated the violent deaths of more than 66 million children by abortion, often with government authorization, enabling, and subsidy. History will note, however, the struggle of Henry Hyde and the millions of pro-life advocates who joined him in his quest to protect and defend the rights of the weakest and most vulnerable.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, today welcomed the long-awaited release of Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu, an imprisoned Azerbaijani economist, anti-corruption advocate, and former New Jersey resident. Dr. Ibadoghlu has safely arrived in Berlin for urgently needed medical treatment. “I am overjoyed that Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu is finally free and safe in Germany, where he can receive the medical care he so urgently needs,” said Smith, who has consistently advocated for Dr. Ibadoghlu’s release and access to medical care since his arrest in 2023. “This is a wonderful day for Gubad; his wife, Irada; their children; and all those who have stood with this courageous family,” he continued. “Gubad’s son, Emin—a New Jersey resident—and the entire Ibadoghlu family were extraordinary in their steadfastness and determination. They never stopped working for Gubad’s freedom, building support for him across governments, parliaments, human rights organizations, universities, and civil societies around the world. Their persistence and courage have been remarkable, and today, they have every reason to rejoice.” Smith also expressed his gratitude for the German government and other U.S. officials, who worked tirelessly to secure Dr. Ibadoghlu’s release and safe arrival in Germany. Dr. Ibadoghlu’s son, Emin Bayramli, said, “We want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who has helped and supported our family throughout this difficult journey. We are especially grateful to Congressman Chris Smith, who have stood with our family from day one and have never stopped advocating on our behalf. We would also like to thank the German government, the State Department, and the Administration for their continued support and for all the assistance they have provided to our family.” “While we celebrate Gubad’s freedom today, I call upon Azerbaijani authorities to fully drop the criminal charges that remain against him following his release on medical grounds, as well as the charges against his brother,” stated Smith. “We must also remember the more than 300 political prisoners who remain in Azerbaijan. Their families are still waiting, and I will continue to advocate for their freedom and ensure that their cases are not forgotten.” For more than three years, Smith has remained a persistent and tenacious advocate for Dr. Ibadoghlu’s release and access to medical care. As his Defending Freedoms Project advocate, Smith has led congressional appeals to senior U.S. officials—including officials traveling to Azerbaijan and meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev abroad—and has repeatedly raised Ibadoghlu’s case in congressional hearings and public statements. Most recently, Smith pressed for his immediate release and the lifting of restrictions preventing him from obtaining medical treatment abroad. ###

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the author of the landmark Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act (PL 113-150)—the law created to help return kidnapped American children—issued the below statement following U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement that the State Department will be implementing a new policy to “restrict visa issuance to individuals responsible for, or complicit in, impeding the prompt resolution of international parental child abduction cases, as well as their immediate family members”: “As the author of the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act (PL 113–150)—which listed specific diplomatic tools and gave the State Department other authorities to enact critical, groundbreaking policies to combat international parental child abduction—I want to thank Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar for taking such bold and decisive action to prevent and punish this incredibly heartbreaking and life-altering crime. “The specified policy, which will restrict visa issuance to foreign nationals found to be responsible for, or complicit in, cases of international parental child abduction, is another critical addition to the United States’ toolkit for reuniting families and securing the return of abducted children to the U.S. “This escalated action is exactly what the Goldman Act envisioned over ten years ago—a United States visa is a privilege, not a right, and it is reserved for those individuals who fully comply with U.S. law and policy. “Any judge, official, law enforcement officer, or individual, who deliberately obstructs the court-ordered return of an American child to their left-behind parent, should not be afforded the opportunity to travel to the United States. “I commend Secretary Rubio and Assistant Secretary Namdar for taking critical steps to ensure that American children abducted from their parent(s) are returned, and that all noncompliant actors are held accountable.” ###

TOMS RIVER, NJ , Sep 26, 2026 Important Storm Resources: Call 911 for emergencies Report power outage to JCP&L - text “OUT” to 544487 or call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) If you see downed power lines: Call 911 immediately if you see a downed power line. Stay at least 30 feet away and instruct others to do the same. State of NJ’s 24-hour helpline: 211 State of NJ’s preparedness info: ready.nj.gov National Weather Service for Central and Southern NJ Additional resources: Ocean County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM): (732) 929-2044 Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM): (732) 577-8700 ** Be sure to keep cell phones fully charged during this emergency** Sept 2026 National Weather Service Map.

By Leif Le Mahieu Published September 25, 2026 Fifty-years ago, a Republican congressman from Illinois named Henry Hyde took action to successfully protect American dollars from being used to end the life of an unborn child. To honor the lawmaker’s legacy, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) on Friday introduced a resolution calling for the continued support of the Hyde Amendment, a measure prohibiting the use of federal dollars to fund abortions. Lankford credits the amendment with saving over 2.5 million babies, according to a copy of a resolution first obtained by The Daily Wire. Lankford’s resolution marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Hyde Amendment, which occurred on September 30, 1976. Since that time, the Hyde Amendment has been repeatedly passed ensuring that federal dollars are not paying for abortions. In recent years, some Democrats have pushed to end the amendment and force Americans to pay for abortions. Credit: YsaL via Getty Images. “For 50 years, the Hyde Amendment has been an important protection for American taxpayers. Every child is valuable. No American should ever wonder if the check they’re sending to the IRS on April 15 will be used to pay for someone’s elective abortion,” Lankford Told The Daily Wire. “Hyde was a bipartisan agreement five decades ago, and it has been included in appropriations bills every year since. We should keep that commitment in place.” The resolution says its purpose is to recognize the Hyde Amendment’s “enduring legacy of saving the lives of more than 2,600,000 unborn children and respecting the conscience rights of the American people.” It adds that it wants to “encourages the people of the United States to reflect upon the history and significance of the Hyde amendment and the loss of 63,000,000 babies through abortions that have taken place since Roe v. Wade.” A companion resolution was introduced in the House by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ). “I had the honor of serving alongside Rep. Hyde in the House for more than two decades, and I can personally attest to his unrivaled brilliance, unparalleled compassion, and unwavering commitment to protecting and defending the rights of the unborn—the weakest and most vulnerable among us,” he said. Credit: Photo by Diana Walker/Getty Images. The Hyde Amendment, supported by members of both parties at the time, came three years after the Supreme Court ruled that there was a constitutional right to an abortion — a decision that would later be struck down by the high court in 2022. ‘‘We who seek to protect that most defenseless and innocent of human lives, the unborn — seek to inhibit the use of federal funds to pay for and thus encourage abortion as an answer to the human and compelling problem of an unwanted child,” Hyde said at the time. In recent years, the Hyde Amendment has faced challenges from Democrats who have floated appealing the amendment. In 2019, then Senator Kamala Harris called for Hyde to be repealed claiming it was blocking access to “reproductive health care.” Those efforts have so far fallen flat when Democrats controlled Congress and would likely require a 60-seat majority in the Senate. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump suggested that Republicans should be “a little flexible on Hyde.” “You have to be a little flexible on Hyde, you know that. You’ve got to be a little flexible,” Trump said. “You’ve got to use ingenuity. You’ve got to work. We’re all big fans of everything.” Despite that comment, Trump has moved to keep dollars from going toward abortions. The president signed an executive order in January 2025 to enforce the Hyde Amendment and crack down on taxpayer funding for abortion. There still appears to be some federal dollars paying for abortions. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office found that almost a quarter of Affordable Care Act plans cover abortions. Some lawmakers argues this violates the provisions of the Hyde Amendment.

By Pedro Rodriguez Published September 24, 2026 FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China sent a letter to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, urging them to discuss with Chinese leader Xi Jinping the release of worshippers and American citizens who remain imprisoned in China. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., penned the letter after he held two hearings in late September on the detainees, including media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, Christian worshippers, Uyghur Muslims activists, Falun Gong, and American citizens detained for minor crimes. “They are people—sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters—whose families have spent years waiting and pleading for their loved ones to come home,” the letter, exclusively obtained by the Daily Signal, reads. “I respectfully ask that you raise the following cases directly with President Xi and press for their release, including through medical or humanitarian transfer where appropriate.” President Donald Trump (right) talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during an arrival ceremony on Sept. 23, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) “At this critical moment, I ask that you make the freedom and humanitarian treatment of these individuals a priority in your discussions with Beijing,” the letter adds. “Several of these prisoners face serious medical conditions that warrant immediate consideration for medical or humanitarian release or transfer.” During the first summit between the second Trump administration and the Chinese Communist Party earlier this year, Trump raised the issue of releasing Pastor Ezra Jin, who was imprisoned for operating a non-state-approved church in China, which eventually led to his release from a Chinese prison. In his letter to the president and the secretary of state, Smith urged them “to bring that same commitment directly to the table with President Xi.” Among the prisoners are eight leaders of Zion Church, who were originally imprisoned with Jin, as well as three Light of Zion Church leaders—Pastor Gao Quanfu, Pang Yu, and Tang Bingyi—who are still in confinement after refusing to register their house churches and submit to Communist Party monitoring. Lai, who has already served six years of his 20-year sentence for running a non-state-sponsored media outlet, now faces serious health concerns and has just received notice that his eldest daughter is undergoing cancer treatment in the United Kingdom. The two American prisoners detained in China, Dawn Michelle Hunt and Nelson Wells Jr., have been imprisoned for more than a decade, “following procedures that raise serious due process concerns,” the letter adds.

By Eva Fu Published September 23, 2026 WASHINGTON—With the U.S.–China summit approaching, Americans who have loved ones detained in China are pleading with President Donald Trump not to forget them. One of them is 20-year U.S. Army veteran Nelson Wells, whose son, Nelson Wells Jr., has been in Chinese prison for 12 years on charges that the family says are dubious. At a hearing held by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Sept. 22, Wells appealed to the U.S. president “father to father.” Weeks ago, his son was diagnosed with hepatitis C. He is set to be released in 2041. But with Wells Jr.’s deteriorating health, including chronic pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, and seizures, Wells said he’s not sure whether his son could last that long. “He’s sick. His family has suffered. There’s no justice in allowing him to die in prison,” Wells said. He said Wells Jr.’s daughter, now 12, “has never seen her father outside photographs” and prays at night “for someone who can bring him home.” Trump can be that someone, he said. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who hosted the hearing, agreed that the United States cannot look away. Freeing political prisoners needs to be on the U.S.–China summit agenda, he told The Epoch Times. “It has to be—period,” he said. The congressman said he hopes the president can convey “a sense of urgency and compassion” for “these suffering individuals.” Seated next to Wells at the witness table was Tim Hunt, whose sister, Dawn Michelle Hunt, like Wells’s son, was arrested in China in 2014 for alleged drug smuggling. Both families deny the accusations. While visiting his sister in July, Hunt said, he didn’t recognize the sibling he had last seen two years ago. “She has aged dramatically. Her posture is that of someone much older. She is slumped over,” he said. He noticed how her teeth had yellowed and shifted, and how her hair had grayed. When they met, he said, she kept asking when she would be freed, and he couldn’t give her an answer. In January, their father passed away at age 92. “He lived a long life before he died, with his only daughter still in prison,” Hunt said, tears rolling down his face. “He could not see her one last time.” Wells put his arm around Hunt while wiping off his own tears. His deepest hope is to “bring them home alive, and bring them home this year,” Wells said. ‘Can’t Delay It Further’ More than 200 Americans are currently detained in China, according to the Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights group focused on the country. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has also heavily suppressed religious and ethnic minority groups, such as Uyghurs, Christians, and practitioners of the spiritual practice Falun Gong, subjecting them to arbitrary arrests, harsh sentences, and other forms of abuse. Those imprisoned include many who have families in America. Rushan Abbas, executive director at Campaign for Uyghurs, described the case of her sister, Gulshan Abbas, as an example of the CCP’s transnational repression. Gulshan Abbas disappeared days after Rushan Abbas spoke in public about the mass detention and torture of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region. The former was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a secret trial. “Behind every statistic is a human being, a family torn apart, and a voice the CCP is trying to silence,” Rushan Abbas said. Erping Zhang, a spokesperson for Falun Gong, noted the case of Alisa Zhou, a Maryland accountant in the audience whose mother has been detained in China since April. Her mother’s arrest followed months of covert Chinese police surveillance of two Falun Gong study groups, Zhang noted in his written testimony. American Grace Chen, who’s in the U.S. Army, was a teenager when the Chinese authorities arrested her parents in 2020. Only after their release in 2025 did Chen learn about the “horrors” that her father experienced, Zhang said at the hearing. Chen’s father was denied sleep, scalded with hot water, and forced to drink urine, according to Zhang. Her parents are still in China. Trump in July helped Pastor Ezra Jin of Beijing’s Zion Church gain his freedom. Jin also testified at the hearing, with his daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, as the translator. He said later in an interview that he considers the upcoming meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to be the best shot to raise the political prisoners’ case. “We can’t delay it further,” Jin said. He added that he hopes the freedom he enjoys can soon extend to many others who still don’t have it—including eight church fellows arrested at the same time as him in October 2025 and two Light of Zion Church leaders, Gao Quanfu and his wife, Pang Yu. Wells has about 10 minutes of call time with his jailed son each month. He has saved this month’s allotment for after the summit, hoping to deliver some good news, he told The Epoch Times. Hunt said he is cautiously hopeful. Speaking slowly at the hearing, he told the audience that if his sister and Wells’s son can’t come home at the same time, he hopes that Wells’s son gets the priority. “He still has a mother and a father that are alive. He still has that family that can support him. He needs that,” Hunt said.

By Eva Fu Published September 23, 2026 WASHINGTON—These are the faces that Beijing doesn’t want the world to see. They are political prisoners, ranging in age from their early 20s to nearly 80, each held behind bars because their beliefs or speech do not align with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Each of them is a father or a mother, a son or a daughter. In the United States and elsewhere, someone is thinking of them, waiting for the day they will be allowed to go home. Among those waiting are a mother of an 8-year-old, and a daughter undergoing chemotherapy, wishing to hold her father’s hand. As the U.S.–China summit looms over Washington, advocates see an opening to make that happen. One phone call to Beijing from the Oval Office, they argue, and these detainees could walk free. On Capitol Hill, the plight of the political prisoners has galvanized bipartisan lawmakers ahead of the bilateral talks. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said at a presser that he believes the “release of the hostages” is on the agenda. Five Democratic lawmakers have also presented the president with the names of 22 prisoners he could bring up with Chinese counterparts. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) hosted two hearings this month championing their cause. “It’s like that could be me. That could be my wife if she lives in China,” he told The Epoch Times. “We’re all God’s children. If we don’t raise [this cause], who will?” Butterfly in the Kitchen On the kitchen counter of her Florida home, Ziba Murat keeps an embroidered image of a swallowtail butterfly. It’s a small, tangible piece of Gulshan Abbas, Murat’s reticent mother, who’s now in Chinese jail under a 20-year sentence on terrorism-related charges. The United States has deemed those accusations as unfounded. Ziba Murat holds a photo of her mother, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, at Murat's home in Virginia in 2024. Ziba Murat keeps a framed image of a butterfly that was cross-stitched by her mother, jailed political prisoner Dr. Gulshan Abbas, in her kitchen. It was hard for Murat to connect the person she knows so intimately with the reality of life in prison. Abbas, as Murat remembers, smiled quietly at jokes and embroidered for hours with a patience Murat never possessed. Even after retiring, Abbas continued to go out of her way to help Uyghur patients, getting up early to meet them at the hospital just so they could see the right doctor and have everything they needed, Murat told The Epoch Times. Murat misses her. She misses her mother’s humming in the kitchen and the wonderful stir-fries she cooked during the months she spent visiting the United States. When it was time for Abbas to leave in 2016, Murat wanted her to stay. She remembers her mother telling her: “I have a 10-year-visa. I can come back anytime I want.” Murat said she had a sinking feeling as she watched her mother disappear through airport security. That was the last time they saw each other in person. (L–R) Ziba Murat; her mother, Dr. Gulshan Abbas; and her younger sister Zamira Murat during a 2015 visit to the United States by Abbas, in this file photo. For the next two years, the two talked on the phone every day. Then in 2018, days after Abbas’s sister Rushan made a public speech denouncing the Party’s mass detention of Uyghurs, Abbas became unreachable. It took two years for her family to learn of her imprisonment and sentencing in a secret trial. Holding her baby daughter, Murat walked around Congress frantically looking for help. Never a news junkie, she became glued to the screen, scanning for the slightest hint of change in U.S.–China policy. Guilt gnawed at Murat as she wondered what she could have done, thinking about how she was here in the United States living her life while her mother was suffering in a Chinese jail. Murat still can’t bring herself to tell the truth to her 8-year-old daughter. When the girl saw a photo of Rushan holding a photo of Abbas, she asked Murat what was going on. Murat responded that her grandmother was “very far away” and that they were asking people to bring her back. Through all these years, Murat said, the girl hasn’t hugged her grandmother. She knows her grandmother through stories, photographs, and the hope that one day they will finally meet. “That’s the cruelty of transnational repression,” Murat said at a Sept. 16 event on China’s religious freedom. “It did not harm only one person. It steals birthdays. It steals holidays, ordinary family moments that you can never get back.” Dr. Gulshan Abbas's image is shown during a congressional hearing by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party titled “The Chinese Communist Party's Ongoing Uyghur Genocide,” in Washington on March 23, 2023. Ziba Murat with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) during a visit for the State of the Union address in Washington on Feb. 24, 2026. Ziba Murat with Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), head of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, in Washington in March 2026. A Card From Jail Alisa Zhou experienced that cruelty when she was around 7 years old. It was 2000, one year after the Chinese regime went all out against her faith, Falun Gong. The meditative practice spread widely by word of mouth in the 1990s, reaching an estimated 70 million practitioners by decade’s end. Then, in 1999, the Chinese leadership ordered a full-fledged eradication campaign. Overnight, the practitioners became outlaws. Zhou was too young to make sense of it all, and her father tried to shield her from the hard reality. When her mother, Wang Youmei, vanished suddenly, he told Zhou that she had gone on a business trip far away. But the persecution found a way to reach Zhou. After her mother’s arrest, Zhou’s best friend, with whom she walked to and from school every day, stopped playing with her. Then her father took her to an unfamiliar place. Her mother was there. She handed Zhou a bag of snacks and a handwritten card. One message is etched into her memory: her mother’s wish that her children “grow up healthy and happy.” The young Zhou cried as she took in the words. Some time later, she grasped that her mother was in jail. There were a lot more tears during those nights when Zhou was alone. To encourage herself, she wrote down “truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance”—the three core principles of Falun Gong—and hung it on her bedroom wall. More than two decades later, the same three words keep Zhou going after her mother’s fifth arrest this April. She had learned about it while driving to Virginia Beach for a weekend retreat. Back at work on Monday, she burst into tears when her boss greeted her with “How was your weekend?” Zhou is now an American citizen. But despite living in the free world, the persecution follows her like a shadow, she said. “There’s not a moment where I can shake it off,” she told The Epoch Times. Whenever she trawls the internet for information on China, she’s haunted by revelations of new arrests and deaths. Believing in truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance poses no threat to anyone, Zhou said, but if the CCP is out to get someone, “there’s no shortage of excuses.” She said she can’t fathom how a state could turn on its own people. Neither can Smith, the co-chair of the bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China that monitors human rights in the communist country. “I’ve been in Congress for 46 years. I don’t get it,” he said. “These [people] are assets to your country. ... This is the salt of the earth—Christian believers, Falun Gong practitioners, the Uyghurs, Tibetan Buddhists. Why would you look to hurt these people? “Let them thrive, and your nation thrives.” To Hold a Daughter’s Hand It’s difficult to know how many political prisoners there are in China. The Chinese regime doesn’t provide such information and asserts that it doesn’t hold them. A database from human rights nonprofit Dui Hua Foundation, last updated in December 2025, recorded more than 50,000 entries. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has tracked more than 11,000 cases. Neither comes close to the true number, advocates say. “It’s millions of people that have to go through that,” Sam Brownback, former ambassador at large for international religious freedom, told The Epoch Times. “These are people that have families like I do, and they’ve just done what they believe is right and stood up for freedom.” In Hong Kong, the number of political prisoners has also been rising over the six years since Beijing imposed a national security law to crush dissent. One of the most prominent is Jimmy Lai, founder of one of the largest pro-democracy newspapers in Hong Kong, which folded following a 500-strong police raid in 2021. His daughter Claire was diagnosed with cancer weeks ago and just started chemotherapy in London. Lai received the news at the maximum-security prison where he’s serving a 20-year sentence. At a Sept. 16 hearing highlighting Lai’s case, Claire’s brother Sebastien pleaded for compassionate release so that their father could “sit beside his daughter in her hardest moment” and hold her hand. “She wants nothing more than to have him with her for this fight,” Sebastien Lai said. Sebastien Lai said he hears about his father’s health declining every single day. In a report two days before the hearing, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation found that Hong Kong prison guards have rehearsed Jimmy Lai’s death. “It’s really scary to hear,” Sebastien Lai said. The Hong Kong authorities’ actions against his father are a “real disgrace,” he said. “They went through all this kangaroo court show trial and found nothing. His record is unblemished, yet they still keep going.” The Long Game Jimmy Lai is one of an estimated 2,000 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures ensnared under the national security law. Former student leader Joshua Wong is currently awaiting sentencing for “foreign collusion” for lobbying Western lawmakers, and potentially faces life in prison. For democracy activist Frances Hui, who has a HK$1 million (about $127,000) bounty on her head, the word that comes to mind is “horror.” “I knew [Wong] when he was 16; I don’t know if he will ever come out alive, or if I will ever be able to see him,” she told The Epoch Times. Wong was already serving a four-year, eight-month prison term. Seven months before Wong was due to be released, prosecutors began a second trial. “They waited until the very end to come up with this charge. It’s just so apparent that they are trying to keep him behind bars for as long as they can,” Hui said. The two met when they were both teenagers campaigning for Hong Kong’s democratic freedoms. Wong, in Hui’s telling, had a lot of energy, taking interviews even while on hunger strike and physically frail. “He inspires so many of us,” Hui said, suggesting that the Party authorities are acting out of fear. “They are afraid that if he gets out next year, he will create something that they can’t control.” The regime is playing the long game, she said, betting that over time, the outside world will “forget the prisoners as they slowly go quiet.” The families of the prisoners fear forgetting, too. At a recent human rights panel, Uyghur lawyer Rayhan Asat held up a photo of her brother, Ekpar, who was detained upon returning from a 2016 U.S. exchange program. They had seen each other that March. She was studying at Harvard Law School and expecting to see him at her graduation ceremony in two months. She regrets not taking many videos of them together. After 10 years of separation, it’s now difficult to imagine what he sounds like. “That’s a very painful thought,” she said. Hope for a Miracle The release of Pastor Ezra Jin in July is helping to keep their hopes alive. After nearly nine months in custody, the Zion Church leader walked onto a plane bound for the United States and was reunited with his family. Chinese authorities charged him with fraud and illegal business operations—allegations frequently used to prosecute religious activities in China. They told him they could imprison him for 15 years but would be lenient if he pleaded guilty. He refused. On July 3, he was pulled from prison and sent in an empty train car to the airport. Even after stepping onto the plane, Jin said, he had no idea where he was going. He had no paperwork or visa. He arrived on July 4—America’s 250th birthday. It felt like a dream. The previous day, he was a prisoner. The following evening, he was sitting by the seaside, watching fireworks with family he hadn’t seen in eight years. Many had thought it was mission impossible, he said, as he accepted an award in July celebrating his freedom. He thanked Trump and many human rights advocates for their support. “When we stand together, changes do happen,” he said. This article was published on September 23, 2026 and can be found online at:

By Eva Fu Published September 23, 2026 WASHINGTON—The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) sweeping repression targeting one faith group is creating a challenge to the United States and allowing Beijing to expand its toolbox to persecute other communities, a Falun Gong spokesperson testified to Congress. Erping Zhang described a wide spectrum of Beijing-linked tactics targeting the spiritual community, playing out in America—including assault, anonymous violent threats, spying, disinformation, and frivolous lawsuits. The tactics can be used against “any group the CCP decides is a problem,” Zhang told the Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Sept. 22. “The regime’s actions undermine the basic rights of Americans and the rule of law,” he said in his written testimony. “The impact of this activity reaches far beyond our own community, creating a playbook of tactics that the regime can use against other targets while undermining U.S. democracy, freedom, and sovereignty.” Zhang pointed to a June report by the Falun Dafa Information Center, which identified more than 600 cases of transnational repression incidents across 30 states. Falun Gong practitioners have faced these threats for simply practicing their faith in the United States, Zhang said. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation practice with spiritual teachings based on the core tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. In the 1990s, 70 million to 100 million people began practicing, with many crediting Falun Gong for uplifting their physical and mental well-being. In 1999, the Chinese communist regime marked it for eradication. Organizations monitoring the persecution have verified thousands of deaths, which they say represent a drop in the ocean. Between March and April, nearly 800 practitioners in China reported experiencing harassment, arrest, or house raids, according to Minghui.org, a clearinghouse for such information. The oldest of them was 94. Since 1999, Falun Gong practitioners have been “detained by the millions, tortured, sexually abused, forced into producing goods that reached American shelves, subjected to forced organ harvesting,” Zhang said. “That apparatus was later turned onto the Uyghurs.” Several Chinese officials hit with U.S. sanctions for repressing Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region have a history of persecuting Falun Gong, an Epoch Times review of their records found. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who chaired the congressional hearing, noted that the repression doesn’t end at the prison gate. To see “spiritual disciplines like Falun Gong suffer so horribly in China underscores that we have to do more, not less,” he said. Be it Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, or Uyghurs, Smith said, “they are the best citizens imaginable.” “Very often, they have a code of conduct that’s written on their hearts,” he told The Epoch Times. “Why wouldn’t you want more of that? I don’t get it.” Beyond China, the Falun Gong community has become a top target for the regime’s “unrestricted war” against religious freedom, Zhang said in his written testimony. In 2023, the Department of Justice charged two Chinese agents for trying to bribe an IRS official to act on a fake whistleblower complaint against Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York-based arts company founded by Falun Gong practitioners. John Chen, one of the alleged agents acting under Chinese authorities’ orders, stated his goal was to help the regime “topple” Falun Gong, according to court documents. Both Chen and the other Chinese national pleaded guilty. Since March 2024, more than 300 anonymous death threats and bomb threats linked to Chinese individuals have been sent, targeting Falun Gong and Shen Yun, as well as lawmakers supportive of Falun Gong, and several civil institutions, according to Falun Dafa Information Center. The center also counted dozens of cases in which individuals impersonated Falun Gong practitioners to make fake threats. In late January, foreign influence research group Graphika flagged a cluster of websites linked to Chinese companies that push Beijing’s propaganda overseas while masquerading as legitimate Western media, corroborating an Epoch Times report finding similar operations on X. Zhang said Falun Gong has long served as a target of Beijing’s repression tactics.

At yesterday’s Capitol Hill hearing chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), lawmakers heard compelling, emotional testimony about the people imprisoned and persecuted by the Chinese government, the families and religious communities working for their freedom, and the retaliation faced by those who speak out on their behalf in China. “Behind every statistic about political prisoners is a person with hopes and dreams, and a life filled with isolation and pain. Behind every person in a Chinese prison is a family waiting, praying, and hoping that someone will not forget them. And behind many of those families is an entire community that feels threatened and intimidated,” Smith said during his opening remarks. “Today, we appeal to Xi Jinping to release women and men of conscience and goodness—as a tangible good faith expression of good will, benevolence, respect, and strength. We appeal to Xi Jinping’s heart,” continued Smith, the Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). “We again ask President Trump—who helped Pastor Ezra Jin gain his freedom—to appeal to Xi Jinping to show compassion and courage.” At the hearing—entitled “The Faces of Repression: Prisoners, Families, and Communities Targeted by the CCP”—members of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) heard from multiple highly anticipated witnesses, including Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, the founder and pastor of China’s underground Zion Church, who was recently released from Chinese detention after spending more than 260 days in custody. During the first panel of witnesses, Pastor Jin—accompanied by his daughter and translator, Grace Jin Drexel—testified before Congress for the first time since his long-awaited release in July. Pastor Jin described the persecution, harassment, and intimidation inflicted upon his church and congregants by the Chinese government, explaining that “the government put pressure on the landlords to terminate our leases, police came to stop church activities and demanded that attendees register their ID cards, [and] police came and cut off the water and power of our meeting place.” Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri and his daughter and translator, Grace Jin Drexel, testify before the CECC at their September 22nd hearing. Eventually, after years of relentless harassment, the Chinese government “mobilized several hundred police to forcibly shut down the Zion Church sanctuary, and the congregation was scattered,” according to Pastor Jin. Zion Church’s services were then moved to online platforms, such as Zoom, where their number of congregants only grew. Shortly thereafter, however, Pastor Jin and other church leaders were arrested and detained by Chinese authorities on the bogus charge of “illegal use of the internet.” The charges were later changed to “illegal business operations” and “fraud.” “During detention, our basic rights were severely restricted. We were not able to have normal correspondence with our families. The only channel for communicating with the outside world was through lawyers,” said Pastor Jin. “On July 3, without any notice whatsoever, I was taken out of the detention center and brought to Guangzhou Airport, where the prosecutor’s office withdrew the indictment against me, and I was put on a plane bound for the United States,” he continued. “It was only through the U.S. Embassy’s consular officer that I learned this happened because President Trump had specifically requested my release from President Xi Jinping during his visit to China!” Concluding his testimony, Pastor Jin called upon U.S. Congress to “continue to pay attention to religious persecution and human rights within China,” and he expressed hope that “this meeting between the two heads of state can produce genuine consensus and breakthroughs in improving China’s human rights situation and ending the persecution of religious believers.” The hearing’s second panel contained other high-profile witnesses, including Nelson Wells Sr., the father of detained American citizen Nelson Wells Jr.; Tim Hunt, the brother of detained American citizen Dawn Michelle Hunt; Rushan Abbas, the sister of detained Chinese political prisoner Dr. Gulshan Abbas and the founder and Executive Director of the Campaign for Uyghurs; and Erping Zhang, a spokesperson for Falun Gong and the Director of Government and Advocacy at the Falun Dafa Information Center. Nelson Wells Jr., an American citizen from Louisiana, was arrested in China in 2014 and sentenced to 22 years in prison after being duped by a so-called friend into carrying bags allegedly containing narcotics. “For that one mistake—that one betrayal, his life, his wife’s life, his children’s lives, and our lives will never be the same,” said Nelson Wells Sr. Nelson Wells Sr., the father of detained American citizen Nelson Wells Jr., speaks to lawmakers at the CECC's September 22nd hearing. Testifying before the Commission, Wells Sr. described his son’s declining health, as well as the abusive treatment he endures while in prison: “Over the years, Nelson has been targeted as one of the few Americans and the only Black American in the prison, which has exposed him to harsher treatment and sometimes physical attack. He has suffered from debilitating chronic pain, seizures (a Chinese MRI report shows he has brain atrophy), malnutrition, internal issues, dental pain, severe depression and thoughts of self-harm… And now, as of a few weeks ago, we discovered that he has been diagnosed with Hepatitis C—the news of which has devastated Nelson and our family.” Through tears, Wells Sr. continued, “We need President Donald Trump, our President, a father himself, to personally advocate on Nelson’s behalf to President Xi when the two meet this week. We have come a long way and are at the last mile. We believe that he—and perhaps only he—can bring Nelson, can bring Dawn home. “When our country asked us to serve, my wife and I did so unreservedly and without hesitation. I even served hardship posts, including during the Gulf War. President Trump, now I am asking for your help—father to father—on behalf of my child. He is a man, but as every parent here knows, he is still my child, and I cannot leave him behind. I am asking you also not to leave him—an American citizen—behind,” he concluded. Tim Hunt—whose sister, Dawn, an American citizen from Chicago, was also arrested in China in 2014 and sentenced to life imprisonment after being lured into a fraudulent sweepstakes scheme—spoke powerfully and movingly about the hardships his sister and his family have endured since her arrest. “She has aged dramatically. Her posture is that of someone much older. She is slumped over. She is frail. Her teeth have yellowed and shifted. Her hair is much grayer than it was just two years ago. Those are the things I could see,” said Hunt. Hunt revealed that in January, Gene Hunt—his and Dawn’s father—sadly passed away at 92 years old, “with his only daughter still in prison.” Tim Hunt, the brother of detained American citizen Dawn Michelle Hunt, speaks to lawmakers at the CECC's September 22nd hearing. “Our father died knowing that his little girl was incarcerated. Dawn was not home when he died. She could not be there with him. He could not tell her that he loved her one last time. He could not see her one last time. He could not give her words of encouragement. He could not help her prepare for a life of freedom. And he could not be there for her if she struggled after twelve years of incarceration,” stated Hunt. Towards the end of his testimony, Hunt urged lawmakers to push for and secure Dawn’s and Nelson’s releases: “Please use your voices. Please ask President Trump to ask President Xi to release Dawn. And please ask for the release of Nelson Wells Jr. as well… I need help for the average American. The two-job American. The three-job American. The American who served his country with honor and pride.” Rushan Abbas, a prominent Uyghur activist, discussed how her sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, was punished by the Chinese government for Rushan’s advocacy in the United States. “I come before you first and foremost as a sister to an innocent woman who has been jailed in China for the past 8 years in retaliation for my advocacy in the U.S. as an Uyghur American,” said Rushan. “Her imprisonment is a blatant act of transnational repression—an attempt to punish me for speaking the truth and to send a chilling message to Uyghurs everywhere: speak out, and your family will pay the price,” she continued. “But Beijing’s cruelty did not silence me. It transformed the course of my life. I walked away from my professional career and became a full-time advocate for my people, determined to turn the pain they inflicted on my family into a relentless fight for freedom, justice, and accountability.” Abbas urged Congress to pass three bills authored and introduced by Rep. Smith—the Transnational Repression Policy Act (HR 4829), the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025 (HR 1503), and the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2025 (HR 4830)—which, together, would strengthen the United States’ framework for addressing, preventing, and prosecuting many of China’s human rights abuses. Witnesses Rushan Abbas and Erping Zhang speak at the CECC's hearing, "The Faces of Repression: Prisoners, Families, and Communities Targeted by the CCP." Erping Zhang, a spokesperson and advocate for Falun Gong—a spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition that has been the subject of decades-long persecution and repression at the hands of the CCP—echoed Abbas’ recommendations and urged the United States to continue speaking up for Falun Gong practitioners. “The Party has tried all means to bankrupt us, to silence us, and to delegitimize us… What it has done to Falun Gong is one of the most comprehensive demonstrations available of how the Party behaves when it believes it is threatened,” said Zhang. “It is therefore one of the best available predictors of how it will behave toward the United States which the CCP regards as its ultimate adversary. We believe that Falun Gong matters, more than ever, to China, to the United States, and to the world, and thus hope the CCP’s repression of our community can receive the attention it deserves,” he concluded. Throughout the hearing, Rep. Smith and various witnesses raised the importance of his bipartisan Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained in Communist China Act (HR 5491), which would mandate a coordinated U.S. government response to the unjust imprisonment of American citizens in China—and the use of family members as hostages to silence or punish American citizens critical of the CCP. “The bill would strengthen the government’s ability to identify Americans unjustly detained in China, coordinate their cases, engage with their families, pursue humanitarian releases and prisoner transfers, and identify additional tools for holding responsible Chinese officials accountable,” said Smith. “Because when an American is unjustly detained, that person’s family should not have to navigate the Chinese Communist Party’s system alone.” ###

By Kate Scanlon Published September 22, 2026 at 5:03 PM WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Ezra Jin Mingri, founder and pastor of an underground church in China and a former prisoner of conscience in that country, called for the release of other individuals imprisoned for their religious beliefs Sept. 22 at a hearing by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. With his daughter Grace Jin Drexel acting as translator, Jin said in remarks at the hearing that “reuniting with my family after eight years apart and watching the fireworks together on America’s 250th Independence Day felt like a dream.” “Even as I rejoice and enjoy such freedom and joy with my family, I cannot stop thinking and worrying about my eight fellow church leaders who remain in prison,” he said. Jin was released from imprisonment and reunited with his family in the U.S. shortly before Independence Day. President Donald Trump previously sought his release during a May summit with China’s President Xi Jinping. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington March 10, 2021. (OSV News photo/Ken Cedeno, Pool via Reuters) Ezra Jin Mingri, founder and pastor of an underground church in China and a prisoner of conscience in that country until his release, is pictured in a 2018 file photo in Beijing. Mingri arrived in Los Angeles July 3, 2026, after he was released from imprisonment and reunited with his family in the U.S. shortly before Independence Day, U.S. officials said. (OSV News photo/Thomas Peter, Reuters) Ezra Jin Mingri calls for release of pastors As Trump prepared to host Xi for a state visit in Washington, advocates have urged him to again push for the release of additional prisoners of conscience and political prisoners of interest to the U.S., including Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong’s prominent Catholic and pro-democracy campaigner. Lai remains in prison, where he is serving a 20-year sentence. “I sincerely hope that the members of Congress will continue to pay attention to religious persecution and human rights within China,” Jin said. “I hope that this meeting between the two heads of state can produce genuine consensus and a breakthrough in improving China’s human rights situation and ending the persecution of religious believers.” In 2018, Jin, the founder of Zion Church, and his family moved to the U.S. amid pressure on the church from Chinese officials. But Jin later returned and was prohibited from leaving China. He was among dozens of members imprisoned in a crackdown by Chinese authorities on his church in October 2025. Some other members of his religious community remain imprisoned. Jin stressed that if he, as the “main leader of our church,” was released, then it should “also be the case that my coworkers, those other leaders of my church, should also be released without any guilt.” He also called for the release of other Christian pastors held in China. Hong Kong protesters hold East Turkestan Uyghur flags at a rally in support of Xinjiang Uyghurs’ human rights, in Hong Kong Dec. 22, 2019. (OSV News photo/Lucy Nicholson, Reuters) Catholic lawmakers speak out At the hearing, two Catholic lawmakers, Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., co-chair of the CECC, and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., one of the commissioners, called for the release of those who were “unjustly detained” by the Chinese government, including Lai. Smith called on Trump to raise the issue of the release of these prisoners “eyeball to eyeball” with Xi during their meeting. “This summit is a golden opportunity for the president to speak out and to do so boldly,” Smith said. Smith said at the hearing that behind every such prisoner there “is a family waiting, praying, and hoping that someone will not forget them, and behind many of those families is an entire community that feels threatened and far too intimidated.” “Perhaps that is what the Chinese Communist Party wants,” he said. “It wants the prisoner isolated. It wants the family frightened, and it wants everyone watching to conclude that speaking out is either futile or simply too costly. But today we are here to say we will not look away. The real cost is failing to speak out. Silence is not an option.” U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi at the start of their bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet on Sept. 24, 2026, at the White House in Washington. (OSV News photo/Kevin Lamarque, Reuters) ‘A clear and unified message’ for Trump McGovern said, “We convene with a clear and unified message to President Trump: advocate for the release of prisoners of conscience in China.” “Pastor Jin is proof that this goal is achievable,” he said. “We sincerely hope for more releases.” McGovern also urged Trump not to “abandon human rights in our foreign policy.”

By Rep. Christopher H. Smith - Tuesday, September 22, 2026 Political prisoner in China Jimmy Lai illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times OPINION: President Trump and General Secretary Xi Jinping will meet in Washington this week with trade, technology, Taiwan and Iran on a crowded agenda. These critical, wide-ranging disputes require intense focus and attention but are unlikely to be resolved in a single day. Yet, the summit can produce one immediate result: bringing home Americans unjustly detained in China and political prisoners such as Jimmy Lai, whose time behind bars must come to an end. Mr. Xi should leave the U.S. knowing four names by heart: Nelson Wells Jr., Dawn Michelle Hunt, Youlin Chen and Min Zin. Mr. Trump already understands why detention cases require leader-level diplomacy. In May, Mr. Trump personally raised the case of Mr. Lai, the 78-year-old Hong Kong publisher nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, who is serving a 20-year sentence for his peaceful advocacy. We hope the president will raise Mr. Lai again. Only Mr. Xi can approve a release of that political significance. Only Mr. Xi can do the same for Americans whose cases have already become U.S. priorities. Mr. Wells and Ms. Hunt have spent more than 12 years behind bars. Mr. Wells is a Louisiana-born father of three. Ms. Hunt is a Chicago artist. They were prosecuted in a judicial system controlled by the Communist Party. Testimony at hearings I have chaired has documented failures of evidence, legal defense and due process in these cases. Mr. Wells was first sentenced to life; his sentence was later reduced to 22 years, which could keep him imprisoned until 2041. Ms. Hunt received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, which was later commuted to life. Their health is now deteriorating. Mr. Wells’ family reports seizures, diabetes and high blood pressure. He also has endured physical attacks in prison. Ms. Hunt needs blood transfusions, has experienced sexual abuse and mistreatment while in prison, and has severe, untreated medical problems, including tumors in her uterus and ovaries. Her father died this year without seeing her come home. The administration has already asked China to release Mr. Wells and Ms. Hunt on humanitarian grounds. Family advocates say Chinese officials have indicated Beijing is prepared to consider release if the request comes from a sufficiently senior level. More than a year of diplomatic work has therefore brought these cases to the point where only political intervention can move them. That leaves the essential appeal for the summit: to make these requests directly to Mr. Xi. After all, the final decision is Mr. Xi’s. Beijing can choose clemency, medical parole, commutation or transfer, but no Chinese judge, foreign minister or Politburo member can authorize the release of two Americans sought by the U.S. president without approval from the top. That is how authority works in China’s autocratic system. The president was recently asked by a reporter about Mr. Wells and Ms. Hunt. He had their names repeated and said he would speak with Mr. Xi about many matters. Thank you, Mr. President. These names are worth repeating until Mr. Xi no longer needs the reminder. This is not for rhetorical effect. It is to ensure that imprisonment remains a top U.S. concern and an irritant in bilateral relations until they are home. Tragically, Mr. Chen and Mr. Zin now require the same attention. Mr. Chen, a Boston-area seismologist who worked on U.S.-funded research, has been held since November 2024 after Chinese authorities stopped him at Beijing’s airport as he tried to return from a family visit. He was accused of “espionage” and has been held without charge. Mr. Zin, a respected scholar of Burma-China relations, was invited to an academic gathering by Chinese hosts and detained upon arrival. He also faces a bogus espionage accusation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has designated both men as “wrongfully detained” and promised to use State Department resources to secure their release. There may be U.S. officials and pundits who object to using presidential time to raise these cases, but their objections would not be persuasive here. Raising these cases does not require trading away a tariff concession, a technology restriction or a security interest to secure the release of a U.S. citizen. Mr. Wells and Ms. Hunt are already the subjects of a humanitarian request; Mr. Chen and Mr. Zin are formally designated wrongful detention cases by our State Department. Presidential attention simply takes existing U.S. policy to the level where a decision can be made. The release of unjustly detained U.S. citizens is a tangible result of a meeting that every American understands and will celebrate.

The following are excerpts of Co-Chairman Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) opening statement at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China’s (CECC) September 22nd hearing, entitled “The Faces of Repression: Prisoners, Families, and Communities Targeted by the CCP”: Behind every statistic about political prisoners is a person with hopes and dreams, and a life filled with isolation and pain. Behind every person in a Chinese prison is a family waiting, praying, and hoping that someone will not forget them. And behind many of those families is an entire community that feels threatened and intimidated. Perhaps, that is what the Chinese Communist Party wants. It wants the prisoner isolated. It wants the family frightened. And it wants everyone watching to conclude that speaking out is either futile or simply too costly. But today, we are here to say: we will not look away. The real cost is failing to speak out. Silence is not an option. Today, we appeal to Xi Jinping to release women and men of conscience and goodness—as a tangible good faith expression of good will, benevolence, respect, and strength. We appeal to Xi Jinping’s heart. We again ask President Trump—who helped Pastor Ezra Jin gain his freedom—to appeal to Xi Jinping to show compassion and courage. Pastor Jin founded Beijing Zion Church, which grew to a congregation of approximately 1,500 people before Chinese authorities forcibly shut down its sanctuary in 2018. Even after the physical church was closed, the congregation continued to meet, worship, teach, and evangelize across China. By 2025, Zion Church had nearly 100 meeting points in 40 cities. The response from the Chinese Communist Party was a nationwide crackdown. In October 2025, authorities carried out arrests in 11 cities, taking approximately 30 pastors and church leaders into custody. Eighteen were ultimately criminally detained. Pastor Jin was one of them. His amazing daughter, Grace, came before this Commission and told us what his imprisonment meant for him and their family. Both Congress and the President listened and acted. The House passed my resolution, H.Res. 1259, asking the President to help secure Pastor Jin’s release during engagement with Xi Jinping. President Trump personally pushed for Pastor Jin’s freedom, and he was released and reunited with his family this summer. That is something worth celebrating. Pastor Jin himself has said that he believes the direct intervention of President Trump with President Xi was instrumental in securing his freedom. And he returned to America after eight months apart from his family. But Pastor Jin’s freedom also reminds us of the people who are still behind bars. Eight of his Zion Church colleagues remain detained. And according to our Commission, their families have raised concerns about extreme temperatures, malnutrition, inadequate medical care, and mistreatment in detention. Even the lawyers attempting to defend them have faced pressure. We also must remember Americans who remain imprisoned in China. Nelson Wells, Sr. has been here before, almost two years to the day. On September 18th, 2024, he testified at the CECC hearing, “Bringing Home Americans Detained in China,” I chaired about his son, Nelson Wells Jr., who has now spent more than a decade imprisoned in China. Nelson Jr. was arrested in 2014 after traveling to China for medical treatment. He was initially sentenced to life imprisonment; that sentence was later reduced to 22 years, leaving him incarcerated until 2041. His family has also reported serious and debilitating medical problems. Mr. Wells’ testimony was heartbreaking. He told us about the call that changed his family’s life—the call telling them that their son had been arrested in China. And he told us about the deterioration of Nelson’s health. His father and mother have spent years trying to bring their son home. The tragedy of Dawn Michelle Hunt’s imprisonment has also taken a devastating toll on her family. After more than 12 years without his daughter, Dawn’s father, Gene Hunt, passed away on January 25, 2026, without ever seeing her come home. Her brother, Tim Hunt, is with us today and has continued the fight their father began, promising to do everything he can to bring Dawn back to her family. Dawn is reportedly in declining health, making the family’s plea for her humanitarian release all the more urgent. Gene’s greatest wish was to see his daughter free; his family now carries that hope forward and asks that Dawn be given the opportunity to come home. That is why I introduced HR 5491—the Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained in Communist China Act. The legislation recognizes that we need more than expressions of concern—we need a coordinated American response. The bill would strengthen the government’s ability to identify Americans unjustly detained in China, coordinate their cases, engage with their families, pursue humanitarian releases and prisoner transfers, and identify additional tools for holding responsible Chinese officials accountable. Because when an American is unjustly detained, that person’s family should not have to navigate the Chinese Communist Party’s system alone. And this repression is not limited to Christians, Americans, or any one community. Last week, our Commission heard a compelling appeal from Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien. Both Sebastien and his sister, Claire, are asking that their heroic father be freed. Gulshan Abbas is a retired Uyghur doctor, who was detained in Xinjiang and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Her detention came just days after her sister, Rushan Abbas—who will testify today—spoke publicly here in Washington about the persecution of Uyghurs. Gulshan’s case is an example of transnational repression because of the obvious connection between her detention and her sister’s advocacy in the United States. We must also remember the Falun Gong practitioners, who have endured decades of persecution. Falun Gong was banned by the Chinese government in 1999, and practitioners who refuse to renounce their beliefs have faced imprisonment, forced organ harvesting, and other forms of repression. The Commission’s 2025 annual report identified 485 Falun Gong practitioners among cases of active detention. But once again, the repression does not necessarily end at the prison gate. Falun Gong practitioners living here in the United States have reported surveillance, harassment, threats, physical assaults, property damage, and reprisals against relatives in China. The Justice Department has also prosecuted individuals for acting as agents of the People’s Republic of China in efforts targeting Falun Gong practitioners in the United States. Today’s hearing is a heartfelt appeal to Xi Jinping. Let these wonderful people go. ###

By Kerry Picket Published Monday, September 21, 2026 With as many as 300 Americans detained in China, where some are subjected to sexual abuse and torture, Rep. Chris Smith is demanding that President Trump make their release a centerpiece of his upcoming summit with China’s President Xi Jinping. The New Jersey Republican, who co-chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, warned that quiet, piecemeal diplomacy has only emboldened Beijing to keep taking American hostages. Mr. Smith, who has been chairing hearings with witnesses testifying about people imprisoned and persecuted by the Chinese government, told The Washington Times that China “only recognizes strength.” He cited his 1994 meeting with Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, who warned that Western pleading is held in contempt by the Chinese Communist Party. “They only recognize one thing, and that is strength. I met with [Wei Jingsheng] in 1994 when he was released briefly in Beijing,” Mr. Smith said. “They rearrested him. … We worked really hard to make sure he got out, because they were going to kill him. When we, the West, and especially the United States, in any way kowtow … they hold that in contempt.” Mr. Smith said, “That’s why we have to be firm. Very civil, but very firm. Our hope is that the president will have a very well-defined list … to effectuate the release of these individuals.” Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been advocating for all American citizens unlawfully or wrongfully detained in China. Among the people detained or imprisoned by China, the most well-known include Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai; Uyghur economics professor Ilham Tohti; American think tank scholar Min Zin; American businessman Kai Li; Americans Dawn Michelle Hunt, Nelson Wells Jr., and John Chen; Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu; and the Zion 8 — eight pastors and co-workers of Beijing Zion Church. A senior official told The Washington Times that Mr. Trump raises the issue of Americans and others detained in China every time he has met with Mr. Xi. “If I had to guess, he will be consistent again this time,” the official said. Mr. Smith is also calling on the Trump administration to elevate China’s travel advisory to Level 4, the most severe, saying the current rating of Level 2 dangerously understates the risk, which includes exit bans and arbitrary criminal charges, to American businesspeople and travelers. “If you go there even as a businessman or woman, and your interlocutors and your business associates over there don’t like what you’re doing, good luck,” Mr. Smith said. “They bring charges, you’re in prison, and you won’t get out anytime soon. … Once accused, you’re convicted. There’s no due process.” “If you’re in a Chinese prison camp, you’re going to be tortured,” Mr. Smith said. “Some of the most horrific tortures on the face of the earth against women — many of them are sexual. I chaired the hearing on [Dawn] Hunt and with [Nelson] Wells [Jr.], with the family members. And I have to tell you, it was heartbreaking,” Mr. Smith said. “The sexual abuse that is being visited upon them, the racial prejudice that is being further exacerbating their situation in prison,” he said. Mr. Smith co-authored legislation known as the Nelson Wells/Dawn Michelle Hunt bill, introduced after a congressional hearing held two years ago, which would establish a formal “cases of concern” framework, require State Department engagement with families, and create an action plan for detained Americans. However, the Foreign Affairs Committee pulled the bill from markup early last year, stalling legislative progress. The legislation requires the Secretary of State to develop a diplomatic plan of action within 60 days of enactment to secure detainees’ release, including “a determination on expanded use of the International Prison Transfer Program. The bill also calls for an explanation of why allied nations without a prisoner transfer treaty with China have nonetheless used China’s own Law of International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters to get their citizens transferred/released. The State Department has so far declined, and Mr. Smith says the agency’s legal interpretation holds that humanitarian prisoner transfers cannot occur without an extradition treaty with China, a position the New Jersey Republican disputes, noting France and other countries have achieved such transfers. The Washington Times reached out to the State Department for comment. Mr. Smith said the Trump administration has several legislative tools to deploy to gain leverage over China when the country engages in what has been called hostage diplomacy against the U.S. This includes the Global Magnitsky Act sanctions, visa bans, and relinking Most Favored Nation trade status to human rights progress. Mr. Smith criticized previous administrations, particularly the Clinton administration, for delinking human rights from trade in May 1994, calling it a damaging precedent of capitulation. “When Bill Clinton delinked human rights on May 26, 1994 — human rights from most favored nation status from trade, he sold out the Chinese people like nobody else has ever sold out a group of people.”

On Tuesday, September 22nd, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), will chair a congressional hearing on people imprisoned and persecuted by the Chinese government, the families and religious communities working for their freedom, and the retaliation faced by those who speak out on their behalf. The hearing will examine the treatment of prisoners in China, the prolonged detention of U.S. citizens, and the persecution of Christians, Falun Gong practitioners, and Uyghurs. Witnesses will also discuss Beijing’s campaign to suppress Uyghur and Tibetan identity, including through the new Ethnic Unity Law, and the threats, surveillance, legal harassment, pressure on relatives, and online abuse directed at advocates outside China. WHAT: Congressional hearing on how Congress and the Administration can press for the release of those still detained in China, protect their loved ones and the people who advocate for them, and impose consequences on those responsible for their persecution—including through the passage and enactment of the Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained in Communist China Act (HR 5491), introduced by Rep. Smith earlier this Congress. WHEN: Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 2:30 PM WITNESSES: (Partial list) Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, Founder and Pastor, Zion Church Rushan Abbas, Founder and Executive Director, Campaign for Uyghurs Erping Zhang, Spokesperson for Falun Gong Nelson Wells Sr., Father of Detained American Citizen Nelson Wells Jr. Tim Hunt, Brother of Detained American Citizen Dawn Michelle Hunt WHERE: 216 Hart Senate Office Building and livestreamed here WHO: Co-Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman Dan Sullivan (R-AK), other members of the CECC, and witnesses ###

By Quinn Delamater Published September 18, 2026 “An innocent, defenseless human life, in a caring and humane society, deserves better than to be flushed down a toilet or burned in an incinerator.” Such are the words of Henry Hyde, the former U.S. congressman from Illinois who tirelessly championed life and introduced the Hyde Amendment in 1976. Almost 50 years later, the legislative rider faces the opportunity to be renewed again. For a half-century, the Hyde Amendment has stopped taxpayer dollars from funding abortion. On Wednesday evening, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, hosted a Special Order on the House floor to acknowledge the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment on September 30. “The promise of America is that life is not just for the privileged, the planned, or the perfect,” Smith said, quoting Hyde. “This may sound odd, even ironic; you are here in the flush of victory. And yet it is precisely now that I ask you to contemplate the possibility of defeat, perhaps even the necessity of defeat. If you don’t know the principle or the policy for which you are willing to lose your office, then you are going to do damage here.” Quena González, senior director of Government Affairs at Family Research Council, explained to The Washington Stand that Smith and Hyde have a history. “Representative Chris Smith served with Representative Henry Hyde for 26 years; he’s been a tireless defender of the unborn in Congress for 45 years and comes as close as anyone to carrying Hyde’s inimitable mantle.” After the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, the U.S. government paid for an estimated 300,000 abortions each year via Medicaid. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, since the Hyde Amendment’s first enactment in 1976, approximately 2.7 million lives have been saved. During Wednesday’s event, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) asserted that society has a duty to protect the unborn. “Life matters. Who are we as a people if we cannot stand up in defense of the most innocent form of life there is — a child in the womb of its mother? That should be our calling. And we should be able to unite as human beings in defense of the defenseless.” Legislative Assistant for FRC’s Government Affairs Chantel Hoyt praised what House members shared during the Special Order. “I appreciated seeing Representative Chip Roy connect this important anniversary to the toll that chemical abortion is taking,” she told TWS. “It’s encouraging to see members like Representative Chris Smith carrying on Henry Hyde’s legacy and seeking to not only retain but build on the protections of the Hyde Amendment.” Rep. Tracey Mann (R-Kan.) observed during the House event that he believes that abortion is not consistent with the Constitution. “Hyde should not be viewed as the finish line for the pro-life movement. It’s the floor. It’s a bare minimum compromise,” he shared. “America is founded on the self-evident truth that every person is created equal and endowed with our creator with an inherent right to life. That right is the foundation of every other right that we enjoy. As a father, I believe that every child is fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Every life has value, every child has purpose, and no child is a mistake.”

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), sat down with host Raymond Arroyo on EWTN's The World Over with Raymond Arroyo to discuss the congressional hearing he chaired this week to press for the release of incarcerated Hong Kong businessman and Catholic Jimmy Lai, and the hope that Lai might be released after next week's summit in DC between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping. The full interview can be viewed by clicking here. ###

By Eva Fu and Frank Fang Published September 17, 2026 WASHINGTON—The son of imprisoned Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai has appealed for his father’s release on humanitarian grounds ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s expected meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Lai founded the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. He was detained in 2020 under the Beijing-imposed national security law and sentenced to 20 years in prison in February. Sebastien Lai described the “painful realization” of imagining his elderly father’s physical and mental state if they were ever reunited, five years after their last meeting. Sebastien Lai (R) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) stand for a photo after a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing regarding the continued imprisonment of his father, Jimmy Lai, on Capitol Hill on Sept. 16, 2026 Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo Jimmy Lai outside West Kowloon Magistrates' Court in Hong Kong on Sept. 18, 2020. Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times “I hear about his health declining every single day,” Sebastien Lai said on Sept. 16 at a congressional hearing hosted by the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China. “It’s really sad. It’s really worrying.” Sebastien Lai’s sister, Claire Lai, was diagnosed with cancer recently and is undergoing chemotherapy in London. “My father learned of his own daughter’s diagnosis from a maximum-security prison. He cannot hold her hand. She wants nothing more than to have him with her for this fight,” Sebastien Lai said. “We hope the Chinese authorities will consider what compassionate release would mean for her and for a 78-year-old man who has already suffered enough. “My father poses no threat. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice. His death in prison would be a disgrace.” He said that his father’s release was just a “phone call away” for Xi. Sebastien Lai speaks with reporters after a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing regarding the continued imprisonment of his father, Jimmy Lai, on Capitol Hill on Sept. 16, 2026. Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo Apple Daily was forced to cease operations in Hong Kong in June 2021, after 500 police officers raided its newsroom and arrested its top executives. At the time, the newspaper was known for its critical coverage of the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong government, particularly during the years of pro-democracy street protests in the former British colony. “This is all about whether or not journalists can report freely when the government can shut down a newspaper and prosecute its publisher,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), the commission’s co-chair, said at the hearing. “It’s about whether a society can retain meaningful freedom of speech when criticizing those in power becomes a national security offense.” Jimmy Lai has spent more than 2,000 days in prison since his arrest in August 2020. He was found guilty of two counts of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” under the national security law and a third count of “sedition” under a colonial-era law. The national security law criminalizes speeches or actions deemed secessionist, subversive, or terrorist, as well as those viewed as colluding with foreign forces against the Chinese communist regime. Punishments can be as severe as life imprisonment. Speaking in an interview after the hearing, Sebastien Lai noted a recent report by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation that states that guards at the place where his father has been imprisoned had “formally rehearsed procedures in the event that Lai dies in custody.” “It’s really scary to hear,” he said, saying that the Hong Kong authorities’ prosecution of his father is a “real disgrace.” “They went through all this kangaroo court show trial and found nothing. His record is unblemished, yet they still keep going.” Trump raised the cases of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, leader of a prominent underground church in China, and Lai during his May summit with Xi in Beijing, later saying Xi had called Lai’s case “a tough one” for the Chinese leader. Jin returned to the United States in early July, but no such breakthrough has come in Lai’s case. Smith and three other lawmakers on the commission, on Sept. 16, introduced a bill that would require the State Department to impose sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for or complicit in the death of Hong Kong political prisoners. Trump is scheduled to meet with Xi on Sept. 24. Smith urged Trump to make Lai’s case a priority during the meeting.

Yesterday, with Rep. Chris Smith’s (R-Manchester) strong support and vote, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Ratepayer Protection Act (HR 9340)—by a margin of 417-3—to protect hard-working Americans from shouldering the hefty energy costs associated with the construction and operation of data centers. “Protecting families and communities from increased energy costs is paramount—especially after years of skyrocketing energy costs driven by Joe Biden’s ‘Green New Scam,’” said Smith. “The Ratepayer Protection Act will inject transparency and public scrutiny into the system to ensure that the largest users of energy—including hyperscale data centers—pay for energy infrastructure upgrades and generation capacity,” continued Smith, who cosponsored HR 9340. The Ratepayer Protection Act amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act by adding a new ratemaking standard for large-load customers, ensuring that the costs associated with grid upgrades and new generation requirements are borne by the project customer and not American families. “American families deserve protection from exorbitant and unpredictable energy bills, and this legislation ensures that the companies who want to build and operate data centers will be made to pay for the massive amounts of electricity they consume. “I strongly support the Ratepayer Protection Act, and although the Senate blocked unanimous consent for the legislation, I urge my colleagues in that chamber to immediately reconsider this bill, pass it, and send it to President Trump’s desk for his signature,” concluded Smith. ###

By Pedro Rodriguez Published September 16, 2026 A top congressional panel on Wednesday examined the imprisonment of Chinese media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai and the state of press freedom and judicial independence in China. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing, titled “A Son and Daughter’s Appeal to Xi Jinping to Release Their Dad, Jimmy Lai,” comes a week before the Chinese Communist Party leader’s visit to the United States. The hearing featured testimony from Sebastien Lai, the son of the imprisoned media entrepreneur, who called for the immediate release of the 78-year-old democracy activist. Jimmy Lai was sentenced to prison after founding a non-state-sponsored newspaper and “believing in the almighty,” the panel’s chairman, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said during the hearing. People gather in front of the Chinese Consulate General to protest the unjust conviction of media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai on Feb. 14, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images) “America understands, in his pains, that freedom dies with the last men willing to defend it. And that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late,” Sebastien Lai said. “My father poses no threat. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice. His death in prison would be a disgrace.” Lai also said during his testimony that his sister, Claire Lai, was supposed to testify before the panel alongside him Wednesday but was diagnosed with cancer earlier this month and is currently undergoing chemotherapy in London. The congressional panel also heard from Steve Yates, senior research fellow for China and national security at The Heritage Foundation, who provided the committee with insight into the Chinese Communist Party’s control. “This is no longer principally an appeal to law, foreign or domestic,” Yates said. “It is a litmus test of whether there remains any reason to believe there is a future in Xi Jinping’s China for the kind of man that Jimmy Lai is.” During his testimony, Yates, who lost his 25-year-old daughter in 2023 to a fentanyl overdose, added that the cancer diagnosis of Jimmy Lai’s daughter only furthers the case for why he must be released. “As a father who held his daughter’s hand through the truly terrible circumstances and ultimately lost her, I can attest there has been no greater pain in my life,” Yates said. “Not being permitted to hold her hand through those times would have been unimaginably worse.” “China should not be making a dying man and a daughter, confronting grave illness, endure additional cruelty in the service of a political trophy,” Yates continued. After the witnesses’ remarks, Smith thanked them for coming forward and asserted that not many things can unite Congress, but Lai’s imprisonment does. “We should also remember the human dimension of this case. For more than five years, Jimmy Lai’s children have had to live with the reality that their father is imprisoned thousands of miles away,” Smith said.