Three Americans who had been incarcerated in China for years have now reportedly been released as part of a multifaceted series of agreements that the Biden administration has reached to repatriate U.S. citizens from countries with which the United States has an adversarial relationship.
The three Americans—Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung—were incarcerated on drug or espionage allegations. The United States has long designated Swidan and Li as unjustly detained.
Last year, Leung was sentenced to life imprisonment on espionage charges, following his role as a prominent figure in the promotion of cultural and trade relations between the United States and China.
It is widely believed that China is one of the largest jailers of Americans abroad, and the number of individuals who have been released is a mere fraction of the total.
These individuals are being detained on charges related to drug trafficking and business disputes. It was uncertain whether China is permitting individuals who have been prohibited from departing the country under so-called exit bans to return to the United States.
U.S. officials declined to disclose the individuals they had returned or whether they had taken any additional measures in exchange.
However, the Bureau of Prisons database indicated that Yanjun Xu, a Chinese intelligence officer who had been serving a 20-year sentence in a U.S. prison, and Chaoqun Ji, a man with whom he had collaborated in a scheme to steal secrets from GE Aviation and other companies, were no longer in U.S. custody as of Wednesday.
Additionally, on Wednesday, the State Department fulfilled a long-standing request from China and reduced the country’s travel warning.
The advisory continues to caution that U.S. citizens who are resident or traveling in China may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information regarding their purported criminal activity.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to provide a statement regarding the liberation of the three Americans.
The Biden administration has now successfully extricated all three Americans who were formally identified as having been unlawfully detained in China, following their release on Wednesday.
David Lin, a pastor who had been detained since 2006 and accused of fraud, was released by China in September. His supporters interpreted the accusations as retribution for his religious proselytizing.
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