{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415852", "OSV News article on Smith hearing'Ezra Jin Mingri, lawmakers call on Trump to push Xi to free prisoners of conscience'", "2026-09-22", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher H. Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", "chrissmith", "https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "By Kate Scanlon\n\nPublished September 22, 2026 at 5:03 PM\n\nWASHINGTON (OSV News) \u2014 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.\n\nWith his daughter Grace Jin Drexel acting as translator, Jin said in remarks at the hearing that \u201creuniting with my family after eight years apart and watching the fireworks together on America\u2019s 250th Independence Day felt like a dream.\u201d\n\n\u201cEven 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,\u201d he said.\n\nJin 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\u2019s President Xi Jinping.\n\nU.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)\n\nEzra 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)\n\nEzra Jin Mingri calls for release of pastors\n\nAs 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\u2019s prominent Catholic and pro-democracy campaigner. Lai remains in prison, where he is serving a 20-year sentence.\n\n\u201cI sincerely hope that the members of Congress will continue to pay attention to religious persecution and human rights within China,\u201d Jin said. \u201cI hope that this meeting between the two heads of state can produce genuine consensus and a breakthrough in improving China\u2019s human rights situation and ending the persecution of religious believers.\u201d\n\nIn 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.\n\nJin stressed that if he, as the \u201cmain leader of our church,\u201d was released, then it should \u201calso be the case that my coworkers, those other leaders of my church, should also be released without any guilt.\u201d He also called for the release of other Christian pastors held in China.\n\nHong Kong protesters hold East Turkestan Uyghur flags at a rally in support of Xinjiang Uyghurs\u2019 human rights, in Hong Kong Dec. 22, 2019. (OSV News photo/Lucy Nicholson, Reuters)\n\nCatholic lawmakers speak out\n\nAt 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 \u201cunjustly detained\u201d by the Chinese government, including Lai.\n\nSmith called on Trump to raise the issue of the release of these prisoners \u201ceyeball to eyeball\u201d with Xi during their meeting.\n\n\u201cThis summit is a golden opportunity for the president to speak out and to do so boldly,\u201d Smith said.\n\nSmith said at the hearing that behind every such prisoner there \u201cis 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.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps that is what the Chinese Communist Party wants,\u201d he said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d\n\nU.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)\n\n\u2018A clear and unified message\u2019 for Trump\n\nMcGovern said, \u201cWe convene with a clear and unified message to President Trump: advocate for the release of prisoners of conscience in China.\u201d\n\n\u201cPastor Jin is proof that this goal is achievable,\u201d he said. \u201cWe sincerely hope for more releases.\u201d\n\nMcGovern also urged Trump not to \u201cabandon human rights in our foreign policy.\u201d", 1, "2026-09-24T09:44:48Z", "2026-09-24T09:45:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415852"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7131956517696381, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}