CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2025, 6:30 PM EST
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
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https://campaignforuyghurs.org
CFU Celebrates the Launch of Unbroken: One Uyghur’s Fight for Freedom at the Hudson Institute
Washington, D.C. – On June 3, 2025, Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) officially launched Unbroken: One Uyghur’s Fight for Freedom, the memoir of CFU Founder and Executive Director Rushan Abbas, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. The event marked a powerful return to the same venue where Ms. Abbas spoke out about the Uyghur genocide in 2018, resulting in the unjust imprisonment of her sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, by the Chinese regime. Nearly seven years later, Unbroken stands as a powerful act of remembrance and a renewed call for global action against the ongoing atrocities committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Unbroken traces Rushan Abbas’s journey from her university years in Urumchi to the frontlines of global human rights advocacy. Interwoven with her late father’s unpublished writings, the memoir sheds light on life under Mao’s Cultural Revolution and draws poignant parallels to China’s current campaign of erasure. With forewords by Dr. Adrian Zenz and Dr. Kenneth Weinstein, and a special message from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the book also includes messages of solidarity from 25 global leaders, scholars, and dissidents.
The launch event featured powerful remarks from Representatives Young Kim, Tom Suozzi, and Joe Wilson, who emphasized the urgency of holding the CCP accountable and reaffirmed their support for the Uyghur cause. Hudson Institute President and CEO John Walters welcomed the speakers and participants at the beginning of the event, underscoring the institute’s support for this important occasion.
Rep. Kim stated, “This book actually is shining a light on the resiliency and courage of the Uyghur people in the face of unimaginable hardship. It is a story of survival and an unwavering demand for justice and freedom.”
“Anybody who hears the story of the Uyghur people—it’s a shock to the conscience, said Rep. Suozzi. “This book is one of the vehicles we need to communicate that to people.”
Rep. Wilson shared a personal message of solidarity: “We pray for the day your sister, Gulshan Abbas, who was unjustly detained by the Chinese Communist Party, can be released and be back with her loved ones.”
The book’s publisher, Dean Baxendale, also spoke and underscored the global importance of Rushan Abbas’s story. The event concluded with a discussion moderated by Olivia Enos, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, featuring Abbas and Damon Wilson, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, who explored the book’s behind-the-scenes moments and the rising threat of transnational repression.
“This book is the voice of a people who refuse to be silenced,” said Rushan Abbas. “It stands as a powerful reminder of our resilience amid persecution and a call to the global community to confront one of the gravest human rights crises of our time. Unbroken is not only my personal story, it is a record of the Uyghur people’s pain, resilience, and determination to be free.”
CFU urges readers, policymakers, and advocates around the world to read Unbroken and join the movement to defend human rights, challenge authoritarianism, and ensure that the voices of the oppressed are never silenced.
The book is now available for purchase through Amazon U.S., Amazon Canada, and Barnes & Noble.
