On Wednesday, a State Department official announced the release of three American nationals who had been imprisoned in China for years.
They are John Leung, Kai Li, and Mark Swidan.
Long Island, New York native Li, 62, was arrested in 2016 and given a 10-year term in 2018 on espionage allegations that his family claims are unfounded. Swidan, a 40-year-old Texas businessman who had been in custody since 2012, was found guilty of drug-related accusations that a United Nations working group deemed lacked evidence, and in 2019 he was given a death sentence with a reprieve.
The State Department believed that Li and Swidan had been illegally detained.
Last year, a court in eastern China found John Leung, a 70-year-old American with permanent citizenship in Hong Kong, China, guilty of espionage and sentenced him to life in jail. Hong Kong and Chinese news agencies reported that Leung, who was arrested in 2021, had been photographed with top Chinese officials and had been a part of a pro-Beijing group in the United States.
A U.S. government official stated that their release was a part of a prisoner swap for Chinese national Ji Chaoqun and Chinese Ministry of State Security officer Xu Yanjun.
Following a suspected attempt to steal technology from American aircraft engine supplier GE Aviation, Xu was taken into custody. Ji was charged with working as a Chinese government spy.
In a statement regarding the Americans, the State Department spokeswoman stated that they would soon return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years.
The three Americans freed from China are safely in American custody and aboard planes returning to the United States, a senior U.S. official said.
Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon Press Secretary, directed inquiries concerning the Americans’ present whereabouts to the State Department.
In a statement, Ryder stated, “We’re not providing information on the travel itinerary of the three citizens for privacy reasons.”
Who, if anyone, was being released in return for the American citizens has not been disclosed by the White House. Three Chinese nationals who were wrongfully held by the United States have safely returned to China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.
The publication had been planned for months, according to the senior official and another U.S. official.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, stated that he has worked closely with Li’s son, Harrison Li, throughout the years to bring the issue of Mr. Li’s release and safe return to his family in Huntington, New York, to the attention of the highest levels of the Chinese and American governments.
We never gave up hope that Mr. Li would return home someday, even when it seemed hopeless, he said in a statement on Wednesday. I’m excited for Mr. Li to return to New York very soon.
“There is so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving for the families of all three freed Americans,” he continued.
Politico was the first to report the news.
Wednesday’s announcement comes after American pastor David Lin, who, like Li and Swidan, was designated by the State Department as having been illegally detained, was unexpectedly released in September. He has been imprisoned in China since 2006 after being found guilty of contract fraud and given a life sentence.
There are more American prisoners than in any other foreign nation, according to the Dui Hua Foundation, which keeps an eye on prisoner rights in China. This number includes both Americans who are imprisoned and those who are barred from leaving the country while an inquiry is underway.
According to a State Department spokesperson, Li and Swidan’s return marks the release of all Americans officially identified as having been illegally detained in China.
That description was disputed by Peter Humphrey, a British supporter of foreigners held in China who spent two years in prison after being found guilty on what he claims were fraudulent allegations of collecting unlawful information.
Based on his investigation, he claims that more than 300 Americans are imprisoned in China, and none of them have had a fair, impartial, and transparent trial—all of which are necessary under U.S. law for a foreign state to declare a citizen to be unlawfully held.
Beijing claims that the law is followed in the handling of every case.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry went on to say that the government has long been adamantly against the United States oppressing and persecuting Chinese individuals for political reasons.
At a routine briefing in Beijing, spokesperson Mao Ning stated that three Chinese people who were wrongfully arrested by the United States had safely returned to China as a result of the Chinese government’s tenacious efforts. This demonstrates once more China’s unwavering commitment to its own citizens.
According to Mao, a wanted person who had been hiding in the United States for a long time had also been sent back to China.
This demonstrates that justice will always be served. She asserted that no location can serve as a sanctuary for criminals indefinitely.
In meetings with Chinese officials, President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and others have brought up the issue of the detained Americans on numerous occasions. Biden also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month in Peru on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, commended their efforts in a statement released on Wednesday.
One of the most challenging and heartbreaking duties our diplomats encounter is negotiating the release of Americans who have been wrongfully detained, and they have demonstrated unwavering determination that has resulted in today’s release, he added.
However, while significant prisoner swaps were discussed with Russia and other nations, the glacial pace of progress had angered the relatives of Americans held in China. Harrison Li, Katherine Swidan, and Swidan’s mother were among the family members that testified before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China in September to urge the Biden administration to take further action.
During the hearing, Li stated, “I have now missed my dad for a third of my life.” The idea of him and up to eleven other individuals cramped into a small cell makes me tremble every morning when I wake up.
According to Li, his father had a stroke, lost a tooth, and was virtually confined to his cell all day and night for more than three years because of China’s zero-szero-Covid pandemic restrictions during the previous eight years. He also voiced worries that the January government shift may hinder attempts to free his father and others.
Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt are among the other families that attended the hearing and are still awaiting the return of relatives who are being held in China.
Humphrey stated that although they are happy for the release of the three Americans, they are also asking, “Now, what about us and what about everyone else?”
Correction made at 6:32 p.m. ET on November 27, 2024: The age of Kai Li was incorrectly mentioned in an earlier version of this article. He is sixty-two, not seventy.
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