CFU Executive Director Rushan Abbas Testifies Before Congress on Transnational Repression
Originally published by Campaign for Uyghurs September 23, 2026
CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23rd, 2026, 2:00 PM EST
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
https://campaignforuyghurs.org/
CFU Executive Director Rushan Abbas Testifies Before Congress on Transnational Repression
WASHINGTON, DC – On September 22nd, CFU Executive Director Rushan Abbas testified before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) in a hearing titled “The Faces of Repression: Prisoners, Families, and Communities Targeted by the CCP.” Rushan joined formerly imprisoned pastor Ezra Jin, who was released on July 3rd of this year, Falun Gong spokesperson Erping Zhang, and Nelson Wells Sr. and Tim Hunt, the families of American citizens Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt, respectively, who are presently wrongly detained in China.
Ms. Abbas gave powerful testimony in front of members of Congress, including Co-Chair Chris Smith (R-NJ), and a live audience on her experiences with transnational repression and the ongoing unjust imprisonment of her sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, who was disappeared by Chinese authorities in retaliation for Rushan’s activism in September 2018. In her testimony, she discussed how transnational repression impacts her day to day life, from threats levied against her to attacks on CFU’s website to fake copies of her memoir to the deportation of her husband and fellow activist Abdulhakim Idris from Malaysia, where he was to conduct advocacy and promote his research. She also made clear that Beijing’s transnational repression is designed to discredit survivors, spread disinformation, and intimidate activists into silence through covert actions, family intimidation and kin punishment, surveillance, manipulation, etc. Finally, she highlighted China’s new “ethnic unity law,” which allows Beijing to pursue individuals and organizations outside of China for activities it deems to undermine “ethnic unity” and the significant danger this poses for activists, dissidents, and ethnic and religious groups living in diaspora. Her testimony serves as a powerful reminder of the reality of Beijing’s transnational repression, and an urgent plea to the United States Congress to do all in their power to protect victims of China’s transnational repression and stop it at the source.
“It was an honor to speak about the reality of the Uyghur atrocities in front of the United States Congress, and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity. Beijing’s transnational repression grows more and more pervasive by the day, especially in the wake of their new “ethnic unity law.” We cannot allow this genocide to become yesterday’s crisis. Beijing is counting on our ignorance – it is the duty of the United States to demonstrate leadership and do all in its power to protect victims and end China’s transnational repression,” said CFU Executive Director Rushan Abbas.
Rushan’s testimony comes at a key moment as Chinese Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping visits Washington, DC this week to meet with President Trump. CFU asks President Trump to prioritize securing the release of Dr. Gulshan Abbas in his talks with Xi Jinping, and to raise the issue of Uyghur human rights.
CFU is a Washington D.C. based non-profit organization committed to amplifying Uyghur voices and raising awareness of the atrocities being carried out in the Uyghur Region. In recognition of our efforts, CFU was awarded the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) 2025 Democracy Awards, the World Democracy Courage Tribute in July 2021, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 and 2025. Visit our website for more information: https://campaignforuyghurs.org/
