Trump to raise detainees with Xi, but other rights issues may not come up
uncertain
issues → raise → Xi
WASHINGTON, Sept 23 - President Donald Trump is expected to press Chinese leader Xi Jinping to free two US citizens held by China, but it is not clear whether other human-rights issues will get similar attention during this week's summit.
In a preview of Xi's visit last Friday, a US official said Trump is likely to bring up cases of people wrongfully detained in China with Xi.
asserted
Trump → expect → Xi
However, the White House has not said whether Trump will directly raise broader rights issues related to Tibet, the Uyghur Muslim minority group, and the country's new "ethnic unity" law.
asserted
Trump → say → Tibet
Trump has made winning freedom for Americans held overseas a priority, including in China, advocates say.
asserted
advocates → make → China
But the Republican leader has largely avoided talking about China's rights record, and has not publicly brought up rights issues when meeting other world leaders like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
asserted
leader → avoid → Netanyahu
Trump will ask Xi to free Youlin Chen, a Chinese-born expert on North Korean nuclear tests who has been imprisoned since late 2024, and Min Zin, a scholar arrested in June, according to Chen's wife, Yufang Rong.
uncertain
who → ask → wife
Trump raised Chen's case when he met Xi in Beijing in May but nothing has happened since then, she said.
uncertain
she → raise → May
"We hope to see Dr. Chen and Zin come home after this meeting," said Elizabeth Richards, research director of the James Foley Foundation, a hostage advocacy group.
asserted
Richards → hope → Foundation
Human rights groups and Democratic lawmakers say Trump must also press Xi on China's treatment of Tibetans and Uyghurs and speak up for Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters.
asserted
Trump → say → protesters
Democrats in Congress say Trump is soft-pedaling human rights concerns and taking a transactional approach to international affairs.
asserted
Trump → say → affairs
"We cannot abandon human rights in our foreign policy," Democratic Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said on Wednesday.
asserted
McGovern → abandon → Wednesday
Beijing has signaled that the topic will be off limits.
asserted
topic → signal → limits
The country's ambassador to the US warned on Wednesday that democracy and human rights are "red lines" that cannot be crossed.
asserted
that → warn → Wednesday
Human rights groups say China has detained Uyghurs on the pretext of countering extremism and confined them in re-education camps.
asserted
China → say → camps
US secretaries of state from both parties have labeled the treatment of Uyghurs as genocide.
asserted
secretaries → label → genocide
"Xi's visit to Washington is a strategic moment to move beyond words of condemnation on the Uyghur genocide," World Uyghur Congress President Turgunjan Alawdun said.
asserted
Alawdun → move → genocide
China's embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
asserted
embassy → respond → comment
Beijing says it has established "vocational training centers" to curb extremism and denies abuse allegations.
asserted
it → say → allegations
Rights groups and exiles also routinely describe China's rule in Tibet as "oppressive," an accusation that Beijing rejects.
asserted
Beijing → describe → that
China has exerted greater control over the region since Xi became chief of the Communist Party in 2012.
asserted
Xi → exert → 2012
Beijing says Washington should stop using "Tibet-related issues to interfere in China's internal affairs."
asserted
Washington → say → affairs
The International Campaign for Tibet called on Trump to ask Xi "to resume substantive dialogue without preconditions" with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
asserted
Campaign → call → Buddhists
The State Department reiterated calls for such dialogue when a Tibetan American died after setting himself on fire in July.
asserted
American → reiterate → July
China passed a law this year to create a shared national identity among the country's 55 ethnic minority groups, which includes penalties for people outside the country for "inciting ethnic separatism."
asserted
which → pass → separatism
The State Department calls the law problematic.
asserted
Department → call → law
Katie LaRoque, director for policy and advocacy at Freedom House, urged Trump to condemn the legislation himself.
asserted
LaRoque → urge → legislation
"President Trump must make clear that Beijing’s domestic law has no jurisdiction over those exercising their fundamental freedoms on US soil," she said.
asserted
she → make → soil
The Aporia
