releases: https://www.budd.senate.gov/2026/09/22/budd-kaine-lead-letter-urging-trump-to-prioritize-securing-the-freedom-of-detained-pastors-people-of-faith-at-u-s-china-summit/
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://www.budd.senate.gov/2026/09/22/budd-kaine-lead-letter-urging-trump-to-prioritize-securing-the-freedom-of-detained-pastors-people-of-faith-at-u-s-china-summit/ | Budd, Kaine Lead Letter Urging Trump to Prioritize Securing the Freedom of Detained Pastors & People of Faith at U.S-China Summit | 2026-09-22 | 2026 | 2026-09 | Republican | Senate | NC | Ted Budd | B001305 | www.budd.senate.gov | budd | https://www.budd.senate.gov/category/news/press-releases/page/ | scraper | Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) led a bipartisan letter to President Trump today, encouraging the administration to continue raising concerns with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at this week’s meeting in Washington, D.C. on the persecution of religious groups in China and specifically pastors and religious minorities being unjustly held simply because of their faith. The letter highlights the persecution of ethnic and religious minority groups such as Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Uyghur Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners. In May, President Trump successfully secured the release of Pastor Ezra Jin following conversations with President Xi Jinping at the U.S.-China Summit in Beijing. In this letter, senators are now urging President Trump to specifically raise the cases of Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Pastor Tang Bingyi of Light of Zion Church, and the eight remaining members of Zion Church—Gao Yingjia, Wang Lin, Yin Huibin, Wang Zhong, Wang Cong, Liu Zhenbin, Lin Shucheng, and Wu Qiuyu at the U.S.-China Summit in Washington. In the letter, the senators wrote: “The United States should continue to promote international religious freedom by calling on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to end its harassment and persecution of members of religious organizations, unconditionally release all unjustly detained political prisoners imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religious belief, and ensure that detainees who have not yet been released are treated humanely.” U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) joined in co-signing the letter. Read the full letter text HERE or below: Dear President Trump, Thank you for raising Pastor Ezra Jin’s case with President Xi earlier this year and working to secure his release. We were incredibly grateful to see him reunited with his family on July 3, right before we celebrated the 250th Anniversary of the United States. The United States should continue to promote international religious freedom by calling on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to end its harassment and persecution of members of religious organizations, unconditionally release all unjustly detained political prisoners imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religious belief, and ensure that detainees who have not yet been released are treated humanely. Building on your successful engagement leading to the release of Pastor Ezra Jin, we request that you continue keeping those persecuted for their faith in China, including ethnic and religious minority groups such as Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Uyghur Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners, top of mind in conversations with President Xi. Specifically, we ask that in your meeting with him in Washington in late September you raise the cases of remaining pastors like Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu and Pastor Tang Bingyi of Light of Zion Church in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province and the remaining eight members of Zion Church in Beijing: Gao Yingjia, Wang Lin, Yin Huibin, Wang Zhong, Wang Cong, Liu Zhenbin, Lin Shucheng and Wu Qiuyu. Thank you for your consideration, /X/ ### | 1 | 2026-09-23T09:45:16Z | 2026-09-23T09:46:14Z |