Eight people. A student, a legislator, a professor, a doctor, an artist, and pastors. All imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party for peaceful acts. As Xi Jinping visits Washington, D.C., this week, we call on him to release them all, now.

This video brings together the friends and loved ones of these eight prisoners of conscience, demanding the release of the people with whom they desperately want to reunite.

Joshua Wong, arrested and detained multiple times over more than a decade for his peaceful activism and for advocating for democratic reform — awaiting sentence after a Sept. 2 guilty plea on a national security charge that carries a maximum of life imprisonment. Owen Chow, a student activist turned legislator, was sentenced to 7 years and 9 months in the HK47 trial. Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a retired physician sentenced to 20 years in a secret trial, forcibly disappeared days after her sister spoke out in Washington. Ilham Tohti, a professor serving a life term for building understanding between Uyghurs and Han. Gao Zhen, an artist sentenced in August 2026 to three years for sculptures made a decade before the law they were charged under took effect. Pastors Wang Lin, Gao Yingjia, and Gao Quanfu, imprisoned for leading their congregations peacefully and faithfully.

These eight represent thousands of innocent people imprisoned for exercising basic rights. Their families will not be silent. The world must not be silent. Free them now. #ReleaseThem