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China stole my sister. Trump can bring her home.

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by Rushan Abbas, opinion contributor - 05/14/26 12:30 PM ET

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by Rushan Abbas, opinion contributor - 05/14/26 12:30 PM ET

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As President Trump sits across from Xi Jinping, I am not just asking for a diplomatic miracle; I am asking the leader of the free world to look a dictator in the eye and demand the return of my sister, a soul who has been stolen by the machinery of hate.

Someone must stand strong against the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses and authoritarian agenda, which runs contrary to America’s 250-year history of democracy and freedom. Trump can do this better than anyone.

Every night for nearly eight years, I have closed my eyes and wondered if my sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, can see the same moon from behind the walls of her dark dungeon. Every morning, I wake up feeling guilty that my innocent sister is suffering in jail because I used my God-given right to speak the truth about the Uyghur genocide. Her plight compels me to fight harder to expose China’s crimes against my people.

Gulshan is not a political activist; she is a retired medical doctor, a mother, and a woman of profound kindness. She has been in jail since September 2018, only because of being my sister. She was snatched away by the Chinese regime just days after I stood on American soil and publicly decried its repression of Uyghurs.

They took her to silence me, turning my freedom into her prison.

The U.S. was the first nation to recognize China’s actions against Uyghurs as genocide. This summit is an important platform to confront Xi regarding continued Uyghur forced labor, the ongoing detention of Uyghur prisoners, transnational repression, and challenge him to end the suffering of the Uyghur people.

The summit is primarily focused on trade, where Trump holds significant leverage in the negotiations, if he chooses to use it. The U.S. enacted the world’s strongest measure designed to combat state-imposed forced labor, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which prevents the importation of goods made, in whole or in part, with Uyghur forced labor.

Forced labor is a cornerstone of the Chinese Communist Party’s abuses against the Uyghur people. It inflates profit by reducing the cost of production and provides China with an undue competitive advantage in the marketplace. Allowing China to perpetuate its forced labor economy will enable it to advance its goal of economic world domination, which poses a threat to American success and respect in global affairs.

Trump should make clear to Xi that he will keep America’s economy strong by robustly enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to bar tainted products that undermine workers at home.

More than that, forced labor products have become a tool of Chinese influence. Take Pop Mart’s Labubu craze: Despite links to Uyghur forced labor, the brand has gone global, recently partnering with the 2026 FIFA World Cup and planning pop-ups across the U.S.

In a March 19 letter, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party urged greater recognition that the abuses against Uyghurs remain ongoing, including the unjust detention of Rahila Dawut, Renagul Geni, Yalkun Rozi, and my sister, Gulshan Abbas. Their unjust imprisonment is a stark reminder of the continuing genocide.

The Chinese Communist Party’s abuses do not end on Chinese soil. Rather, their reach extends to U.S. citizens at home and abroad through transnational repression. China is responsible for approximately 22 percent of all documented cases worldwide, making transnational repression a growing concern that impacts the lives of American citizens.

This hit home. On March 30, my husband, Abdulhakim Idris, traveled to Malaysia for advocacy work and to launch the Malay-language edition of his book on the Uyghur genocide, “Menace.” Instead, he was detained at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and deported following directives from Beijing. His U.S. passport was confiscated, and he was held for almost 22 hours without justification or basic necessities before being forcibly escorted onto a flight by four police officers.

These tactics are a signature tool of transnational repression used against Uyghurs worldwide — even in the U.S. — in an attempt to silence dissidents. If American citizens are not safe from Beijing’s reach, then our sovereignty is under threat. Trump must demand an end to these infringements on the rights of Americans.

We know that the Xi regime stands against the principles that make America great. Its policies seek to eliminate individuality and democracy. As we shape the future of our relations with China, the U.S. must hold firm. Trump has a historic opportunity