PRISONER ADOPTION

Members of Congress are "adopting" prisoners jailed for their faith to
press for religious freedom in foreign lands.

They will plead for the release of captives such as China's Peter Xu
Yongze, leader of the independent Christian evangelical New Birth church
with followers numbering in the millions; and Bishop Su Zhimin, arrested
after accusing government officials of using torture to force people out of
the underground church.

"As I speak to you today thousands are sitting in cramped and dirty cells
for no other reason than peacefully expressing their religious beliefs in a
hostile country," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.

Brownback joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers who have formed the
Religious Prisoners Congressional Task Force, which is urging every member
to adopt a prisoner and press heads of state for the prisoner's release.