Xi Jinping to Visit Washington, with a List of Political Prisoners Waiting for Him

English title: Xi Jinping to Visit Washington, with a List of Political Prisoners Waiting for Him

English introduction: Ahead of Xi Jinping's planned visit to Washington on September 24, about 30 human rights, democracy, and religious freedom organizations have co-signed a letter calling for the release of a batch of prisoners of conscience and an end to transnational repression. On September 17, Freedom House also released a policy brief, focusing on the harassment, surveillance, and pressure on family members faced by overseas Chinese critics in the United States.

English article: Before Xi Jinping's scheduled visit to Washington on September 24, a list has already arrived.

The names on the list include Gulixian Abas, Ekber Ayagh, Zhou Xiangyang, Reyla Daut, Ding Jiaxi, Dong Yuyu, Gao Zhensai, Gao Zhisheng, the 11th Panchen Lama Gendun Choekyi Nyima, Go Sherab Gyatso, Martin Lee, Leung Kwok-hung, Maksarip, Ilham Tohti, Wang Bingzhang, Wang Yi, Yang Maodong, and the person in charge of the Beijing Zion Church. These names appear in an open letter to Xi Jinping written by about 30 human rights, democracy, and religious freedom organizations.

This is not an abstract initiative to "improve human rights." The list directly connects Xi Jinping's planned visit to the United States with a group of people who are experiencing imprisonment, detention, or other restrictions in mainland China, Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. The co-signing organizations demand the release of prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders before Xi Jinping arrives in Washington and call for an end to transnational repression and the revision of laws that they believe violate international human rights obligations.

One day after the open letter was released, on September 17, Freedom House released a policy brief that further focuses on the United States: during Xi Jinping's planned visit to the United States, can overseas Chinese dissidents, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other critics express themselves publicly without interference from foreign governments?

The people on the list do not belong to the same case. Some are Uyghur scholars and intellectuals, some are Hong Kong democrats, and some are Chinese mainland lawyers, journalists, and religious personnel. The common point that puts them in the same letter is not their profession, but that their cases have been long-term concerns of international human rights organizations or U.S. lawmakers.

The open letter also demands the revision or abolition of laws, including the Hong Kong National Security Law and the 2026 Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law. The co-signers also demand that China allow overseas individuals, including the Dalai Lama, to safely return to China to visit their families or reunite with their communities.

However, the part of the letter that most directly touches on the United States is "transnational repression."

The co-signing organizations claim that many signatories have personally experienced harassment, surveillance, or monitoring by the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, or its agents in the United States; some American activists' family members in China have been retaliated against due to their activities overseas. These public accusations by the co-signing organizations should be judged based on individual cases, judicial documents, law enforcement investigations, or testimony from the parties involved.

The Freedom House policy brief on September 17 puts these concerns into a longer record. The organization has long established a database of transnational repression and lists China as one of the countries that implements such behavior most widely. Its so-called transnational repression includes physical attacks, detention, or deportation of overseas critics, as well as digital surveillance, threats to family members, and other cross-border pressure tactics.

This creates two completely different scenarios for Washington on September 24.

On one hand, there are the diplomatic rituals of a state visit, trade, security, and technology issues; on the other hand, there are the protesters who may again appear outside the Chinese embassy, as well as those who cannot come to Washington. In recent years, supporters of Chinese human rights activists such as Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong have held signs outside the Chinese embassy in the United States, demanding the release of political prisoners. For these overseas communities, Xi Jinping's visit to the United States is not just a diplomatic news event, but also one of the few opportunities for them to publicly express their demands when the Chinese leader visits.

The open letter therefore puts forward a very specific demand: Xi Jinping's delegation and related personnel in the United States should publicly commit to not implementing transnational repression or collective punishment against protest and boycott activities during the visit.

Whether this demand will be responded to is currently unknown. The Chinese government has long opposed foreign governments and organizations interfering in China's internal affairs with human rights issues and has defended the Hong Kong national security system, Xinjiang and Tibet policies, and related national security measures. For the co-signing organizations, the controversy has already crossed borders: when a government's control over its citizens is pointed out to extend to American streets, social platforms, and overseas family relationships, the issue is no longer just happening within China.

The meeting on September 24 will have its own diplomatic agenda. But before the meeting begins, this list has already put another set of agendas on the table: when can those who are imprisoned return home, and can those who are already living overseas safely speak out when Xi Jinping arrives in Washington?