Washington, September 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has urged President Donald Trump to press Chinese President Xi Jinping for the release of the Panchen Lama and other religious prisoners during their planned summit.
In an appeal issued on September 14, the commission identified September 24 as the date of the planned Trump-Xi meeting and called on the US President to raise cases of religious persecution and detained faith leaders with the Chinese leadership.
USCIRF Vice Chair CeCe Heil urged Trump to seek the release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, whom the commission identifies as the Panchen Lama, along with his family. Its list also includes Gulshan Abbas, Ekpar Asat, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, and Jimmy Lai.
“USCIRF again asks President Trump to seize the opportunity during his upcoming summit with President Xi to call for the release” of the named prisoners, Heil said.
The commission cited the release of Pastor Ezra Jin of the Zion Church in July as a reason for renewing its appeal. According to USCIRF, Chinese authorities allowed Jin to travel to the US to reunite with his family following a direct appeal by Trump during his May summit with Xi in Beijing.
Heil said the release demonstrated that Xi had the authority to free prisoners detained over freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) concerns.
USCIRF said eight Zion Church leaders arrested alongside Jin remained detained. They were identified as Wang Lin, Yin Huibin, Wang Cong, Lin Shucheng, Liu Zhenbin, Gao Yingjia, Elder Wang Zhong and Wu Qiuyu.
The commission said their arrests were part of a broader crackdown on Christian house churches launched by the Chinese Communist Party in 2025.
USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood also called on Trump to raise the issue again, saying continued US intervention would demonstrate that religious freedom remained a priority for Washington.
The commission further urged Trump to raise the case of Pastor John Cao, whom it described as a US lawful permanent resident. USCIRF asked the President to press Chinese authorities to issue Cao a passport so that he could reunite with his family and receive urgent medical treatment in the United States.
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