The relatives of physician Gulshan Abbas are calling on President Trump to address her detention during his next summit with President Xi Jinping. The retired doctor has spent eight years in a Chinese prison under what her family labels as false terrorism charges .
The 2018 Hudson Institute speech that triggered a disappearance
Dr. Gulshan Abbas’s arrest in Urumqi, the capital of China's Xinjiang region, appears to be a direct consequence of her sister’s political activism. Rushan Abbas, a U.S. citizen, delivered a televised speech at a Hudson Institute panel in September 2018 regarding the treatment of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang.
According to Newsweek, Chinese authorities detained the 64-year-old retired physician just five days after that public address. The family contends that the arrest was not a matter of criminal justice,but a calculated act of transnational repression intended to silence Rushan Abbas's advocacy for her people.
A 20-year sentence based on disputed terrorism charges
The legal basis for Dr.. Abbas’s detention remains highly contested by human rights advocates and her family members. In March 2019,a Chinese court sentenced the retired physician to 20 years in prison on charges including "participating in a terrorist organization" and "gathering a crowd to disrupt social order."
The family claims they were kept in the dark about the secret trial for nearly two years. As Newsweek reported, the Chinese state-run Global Times even attempted to discredit the family by claiming Rushan Abbas had fabricated her sister's existence, a claim the family vehemently denies.
Bipartisan momentum from a 414-0 House vote
Significant political support for the Abbas family has materialized within the United States Congress. A House resolution introduced by Republican Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey called for the prioritization of political and religious prisoners,including Dr. Abbas, in future diplomatic meetings with China.
This resolution passed the House of Representatives unanimously with a 414-0 vote in May.. Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, has also expressed that the case of Dr. Abbas should be a formal item on the diplomatic agenda during high-level discussions with Chinese leadership.
Will the White House summit break the diplomatic deadlock?
The upcoming meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping presents a critical , yet uncertain, opportunity for the Abbas family. Ziba Murat, Dr. Abbas's daughter, is hoping that the summit will serve as the clearest opening yet to secure the physician's return to the United States.
Several questions remain regarding the efficacy of this diplomatic approach. It is unclear whether the administration will prioritize this specific case of transnational repression over broader economic or security negotiations with Beijing. Furthermore, while the State Department has officially condemned China's efforts to pressure ethnic groups, the practical impact of such condemnations on individual prisoner releases remains unproven.
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