Given the scope and scale of the political prisoner crisis across China, the United States needs to do more to secure political prisoners’ release. The Chinese Communist Party holds at least 1.8 million Uyghurs in political prison camps and nearly 1,000 political prisoners in Hong Kong. In addition, the CCP extrajudicially detains many Tibetans, Christians (including pastors), and political dissidents. This is largely because the CCP sees political prisoners as an essential method of quashing dissent and retaining its power.
With that in mind, the United States should have equally robust mechanisms for setting political prisoners free. Congress has a substantial apparatus for securing political prisoners’ release. But the executive branch pursues political prisoner release in a more ad hoc manner. A new office of political prisoner advocacy in the executive branch, with a special envoy of ambassador rank, could bolster existing US efforts to free political prisoners.
Join Hudson for a discussion on the situation facing political prisoners across China, what the US can do to advance their cause, and potential reforms to Washington’s political prisoner advocacy framework.
Join Senior Fellow Michael Doran for a candid conversation with H.E. Narek Mkrtchyan, ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the United States of America, as they discuss the developments, challenges, and opportunities defining the US-Armenia relationship.
Please join Hudson Institute’s China Center as Miles Yu hosts a panel with key members of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan and the Democratic Progressive Party to examine Taiwan’s mobilization efforts against the CCP’s increasing threats.
Join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Robert McDowell for a discussion of the book and communications law with the authors, Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Kirk Arner, and Arielle Roth.
