House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is inviting the daughter of a Uyghur doctor imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party to attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday, spotlighting Beijing's ongoing human rights abuses, The Hill reported.
Johnson announced that Ziba Murat, whose mother, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, has been detained in China since 2018, will attend the address as his guest.
"In 2018, Dr. Gulshan Abbas was forcibly detained and arrested by the Chinese Communist Party in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region days after her family member spoke out about the CCP's heinous treatment of Uyghur Muslims," Johnson said in a statement to The Hill.
Murat and her aunt, activist Rushan Abbas, have long maintained that Dr. Abbas was imprisoned in retaliation for Rushan Abbas' public criticism of China's treatment of Uyghur Muslims, including reports of mass incarceration and forced labor in the Xinjiang region.
"As we continue to shine an international light upon China's human rights abuses and call for the release of all those unjustly detained, it is my honor to invite Dr. Abbas' daughter — Ziba Murat — as my guest at President Trump's State of the Union address," Johnson said.
Dr. Abbas' case has drawn attention from congressional Republicans focused on confronting the CCP. The House Select Committee on China has previously highlighted her detention.
In October, House Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., along with Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., leaders of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, urged Trump to personally raise Abbas' case and others during his next meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump last met with Xi in October in South Korea, where trade was a central focus of discussions. Trump is expected to visit China from March 31 to April 2 for further talks with Xi, according to reports.
The modern tradition of presidents highlighting special guests during the State of the Union began in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan and has become a bipartisan platform for political messaging.
Presidents and lawmakers bring guests to highlight policy priorities, honor personal stories, and underscore legislative or national security issues before a nationwide audience.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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