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Thanks @Newsweek for publishing an oped from @SamuelBrownback and me today. #afghanistan #IRF
newsweek.com/time-try-new-ap…
Thank you @NEWSMAX for running my latest on Russia’s abduction of children from Ukraine.
"Oct. 10, 2026 marked one year since first lady Melania Trump took on the cause of returning Ukraine's stolen children from Russia.
@FLOTUS opened a door nobody else could open, and she deserves credit for that. A reunion is a family put back together. It is also a child who will not be drilled, given a new name, and eventually handed a Russian weapon and uniform.
But Putin has used the dialogue to smudge the difference between a crime and the ordinary wreckage of war.
Most of the 31 children returned under the pressure the first lady applied came out of occupied territory in Ukraine, not out of Russia itself. Some of the children sent back were never abducted. They were separated by fighting, or they were living on the wrong side of a new line.
Putin releases the children it can afford to release, and would like us to call that cooperation.
We must not let the channel the first lady opened become a stage for the children Moscow was already willing to give up. The goal is thousands, not dozens. This is the test of whether the channel is ours or his." — Sarah E. Makin @DCSas for @NEWSMAX.
newsmax.com/politics/childre…
My son has that same fiery red hair. He’s little, loud, and convinced the world is mostly safe.
Ariel Bibas was four. Kfir was still a baby. Both were taken from their home on October 7 with their mother, Shiri. They did not come back. Their lives were stolen.
On this day I hold my boy a little longer and say their names, because forgetting them would be its own kind of failure.
Paris renames scenic path in ‘particularly peaceful’ gardens to honour slain Bibas children
thejc.com/news/world/paris-r…
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
Thank you @WSJ.
The persecution on Chinese Christians and House Churches reveals a type of institutional risk that does not show up on a spreadsheet for businesses and companies, it cannot be hedged or diversified. For businesses, it often means loss of competitive edge or capital invested.
For Christians like my parents, it means loss of freedom.
wsj.com/opinion/religious-pe…
#FreeLightofZionChurch #FreeZionChurch
感谢 @WSJ。
中国对基督徒和家庭教会的迫害，揭示了一种企业和商业活动中难以在财务报表上体现的制度性风险。这种风险无法通过对冲来规避，也无法通过分散投资来化解。
对企业而言，这往往意味着投入资本的损失。
对基督徒而言，这意味着自由的丧失。
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
I want to thank @MilitaryTimes and @Cebeyersdorfer for helping us share our mission and raising awareness about veterans mental health.
Green Beret who survived an IED now clears Ukraine’s landmines militarytimes.com/off-duty/m…
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
These families - often including American citizens - live with the uncertainty of what is happening to loved ones in China. Law abiding citizens can be thrown in jail just for believing in a higher power than the Chinese Communist Party.
theepochtimes.com/article/fa…
Thank you, @realDailyWire, for running this op-ed today.
“If we keep negotiating and cooperating with a power that is openly at war with our values — and committing the same atrocities we have gone to war to stop — we do not look sophisticated. We look like we have forgotten who we are, and we hand China the moral high ground we used to occupy without apology.”
Continued compartmentalization of trade/AI from human rights issues is not realism; it is amnesia.
cc: @IWF @bdomenech
Religious Freedom Belongs On Today’s Agenda With Xi
Trump must prioritize the release of political & religious prisoners held hostage by the Chinese Communist Party. @realDailyWire @DCSas
dailywire.com/news/religious…
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
Netanyahu went after Qatar and Turkey in the same breath.
On Qatar: "It tries to brainwash young people into hating Israel. It hosted Hamas leaders on its territory."
On Turkey: "Erdogan hosts Hamas leaders. He kills journalists and political opponents and holds a record when it comes to this. He occupied northern Cyprus, threatens Greece, and now wants to take control of Syria."
Thank you, Paul!
@DCSas is exactly right. Religious liberty, and in particular, prisoner release, should absolutely be a priority today and tomorrow with the Chinese leader: dailywire.com/news/religious…
My menu recs:
Amuse-bouche: release of political prisoners
First course: end the long-arm harassment of Uyghurs, Hong Kongers, and Falun Gong in the U.S.
Palate cleanser: no more family-hostage diplomacy
Dessert: Xi actually having to hear the words “transnational repression” out loud. White House honey ice cream is a nice touch, maybe add “stop disappearing people and stalking their families abroad.” Chef’s choice.
What’s on the menu for President Trump’s state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping:
- Yellow squash velouté, wild mushroom fricassée, crispy pancetta & scallion oil
- Sesame-crusted sea bass, baby bok choy, roasted eggplant & sauce verte
- Vanilla crémeux, White House honey ice cream, walnut frangipane & sour cherry confit
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
As President Trump meets with Xi today, I’m holding on to hope that her name will be raised and that she can finally come home. Thank you, @FoxNews, for sharing our story. #FreeGulshanAbbas
Uyghur American Ziba Murat is making an emotional plea to President Trump as he meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping: bring my mother home.
Dr. Gulshar Abbas, a retired doctor and grandmother, was seized from her home in China in 2018 — six days after her sister publicly spoke out about the Chinese government's brutal oppression of the Uyghur people. She was convicted on terrorism charges her family calls "made up" and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She's now served eight of them.
Murat's daughter was three months old when her grandmother disappeared. She's now eight — and starting to ask questions her mother can't answer. House Speaker Mike Johnson has advocated for Abbas' release, and Murat was his guest at the 2026 State of the Union. But with the Trump-Xi summit underway, the family sees a narrow window to finally push her case to the top.
Full story here ⬇️ foxnews.com/politics/daughte…
Dear conservative media: stop calling him “President Xi” as if he were the Chinese equivalent of a U.S. president.
Xi Jinping is General Secretary of the Communist Party. That is the job that actually runs China. The presidency is a state title the Party then hands him. He was not chosen in a competitive election.
Using “president” as the default title flattens a one-party system into something it isn’t.
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
Uyghur American Ziba Murat is making an emotional plea to President Trump as he meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping: bring my mother home.
Dr. Gulshar Abbas, a retired doctor and grandmother, was seized from her home in China in 2018 — six days after her sister publicly spoke out about the Chinese government's brutal oppression of the Uyghur people. She was convicted on terrorism charges her family calls "made up" and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She's now served eight of them.
Murat's daughter was three months old when her grandmother disappeared. She's now eight — and starting to ask questions her mother can't answer. House Speaker Mike Johnson has advocated for Abbas' release, and Murat was his guest at the 2026 State of the Union. But with the Trump-Xi summit underway, the family sees a narrow window to finally push her case to the top.
Full story here ⬇️ foxnews.com/politics/daughte…
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
No one should be in prison because of their faith. Nor should they be imprisoned because a relative in the US speaks out against China's Uyghur genocide. I hope @POTUS raises the case of Dr. Gulshan Abbas and other prisoners when he meets w/President Xi. newsweek.com/speak-up-for-th…
