In a powerful and heartfelt show of solidarity, the United States once again gave voice to the voiceless during Captive Nations Week 2025. Held in the Rayburn House Office Building of the U.S. Congress, the congressional briefing brought renewed attention to the ongoing oppression of East Turkistan, Tibet, and Southern Mongolia under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was a moment marked not only by solemn reflection but by steadfast commitment to truth, justice, and the enduring struggle for freedom.
Organised under the authority of Public Law 86-90, the historic Captive Nations Resolution of 1959, this event stands as an enduring promise from the United States to all peoples subjugated by communist imperialism. Notably, both Tibet and East Turkistan are explicitly named in the resolution, affirming their unique identities and the longstanding recognition of their plight by the American people and government.
Representing the Tibetan cause, Tenzin Wangdu, a Tibetan-American activist and vocal advocate for Rangzen (independence), delivered a searing reminder of Tibet’s rightful sovereignty. “Tibet has never been legally recognised as part of China,” Wangdu said. “Our unique culture, language, and governance flourished for over a thousand years before the 1951 invasion.” He rejected whitewashed narratives of so-called “peaceful liberation,” urging Congress to replace hollow rhetoric with decisive action. “Only independence can guarantee the survival of the Tibetan people,” he declared.
From East Turkistan, Salih Hudayar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Security for the East Turkistan Government in Exile, gave a stirring keynote address. He reminded attendees that East Turkistan was named in the 1959 resolution not as a Chinese province, but as a nation under occupation. “That law is still in effect and tragically, so is our captivity,” he said. His testimony laid bare the horrors faced by the Uyghur and Turkic peoples: mass internment, family separations, and forced organ harvesting crimes corroborated by recent U.S. Congressional testimonies. Hudayar did not mince words: “Removing the CCP is not enough. The Chinese empire must be dismantled.”
Se Hoon Kim, a Korean-American journalist and advocate for Southern Mongolia, gave voice to a people too often ignored. He detailed how Beijing’s policies are systematically erasing Mongolian language, culture, and nomadic life. “This is not merely a crackdown,” Kim emphasized, “but a deliberate erasure of an ancient heritage.” His words underscored the wider pattern of state-led cultural genocide—one that spans from the steppes of Inner Mongolia to the peaks of Tibet and deserts of East Turkistan.
The event culminated in a stirring joint proclamation from representatives of all three oppressed nations, reaffirming a shared vision: “The right of all captive nations to recover their independence and exercise national sovereignty is absolute and non-negotiable.”
As the week concluded, so too did any illusions that these voices would go unheard. The Captive Nations briefing served as a reminder of America’s unique moral obligation not merely to witness, but to stand firm with those resisting oppression.
Captive Nations Week may be symbolic, but its message is unshakable: the spirit of freedom is alive, and the United States has not forgotten those who are still in chains.
In Gratitude and Solidarity
To the members of Congress, human rights advocates, and tireless leaders in exile who convened in Washington this week your courage uplifts nations still struggling for breath beneath the heel of dictatorship. From Lhasa to Ürümqi, from the grasslands of Southern Mongolia to the heart of the U.S. Capitol, the light of resistance continues to burn.
May the next Captive Nations Week be one of celebration—of restored nations, returned voices, and reclaimed freedom. Until then, we remember. We speak. We act.
