Lawmakers urge President Joe Biden to use the remainder of his term to work toward the release of Americans “unlawfully detained” in China, saying U.S. officials will help ensure their freedom. They argue that more efforts are needed to achieve this goal.
“More Americans are unjustly detained in China than in any other country. American citizens are serving long prison sentences in China, most of them sentenced for serious due process violations or false charges. Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said in a letter to the president.
“Many people in Chinese prisons suffer severe abuse while in custody and suffer from severe physical and mental health problems due to lack of adequate nutrition and medical care. is worth defending tenaciously to win,” said Smith and Merkley, co-chairs of the Congressional Executive Committee on China.
Lawmakers recently oversaw hearings where families of those detained spoke of how their loved ones are suffering mentally and physically without legal recourse.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. China denies the allegations and says it treated the detained Americans appropriately and respected their legal rights.
Human rights groups have made similar claims regarding the status of Americans held in prisons in China. The exact number of U.S. citizens detained under suspicious circumstances remains unclear, and estimates vary. Families of imprisoned Americans and rights activists say the U.S. government should expand the list of people considered “unlawfully detained.”
The State Department has determined that three Americans, including pastor David Lin, who was released last month, are being unlawfully detained in China. The other two Americans are Kai Li and Mark Swidan.
Deihua, a rights group that advocates for Chinese detainees, estimates that more than 200 Americans are “subject to coercive measures” in China.
Lee, a native of Long Island, New York, was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage in 2018. His family maintains the charges are unfounded. Swidan, a Texas businessman, was detained in 2012 and convicted on drug charges in 2019. His defenders claim he was not in China at the time of the alleged crime.
In a letter to Biden, the lawmakers said they spent more time in prison than the three Americans recently released from Russian prisons, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovitch and Ars Kurmasheva, combined. He said he had spent time in prison. “This has to change,” they wrote.
“The release of Americans should be a top priority in future meetings with General Secretary of China and President Xi Jinping,” the letter said.
The Chinese government uses “exit bans” to unfairly detain Americans “to force relatives to return to China to resolve economic disputes or face criminal charges.” wrote the lawmakers.
“If the Chinese government wants to improve relations with the United States, it should unconditionally release unjustly imprisoned Americans and unilaterally end the “exit ban,” which is effectively a hostage situation.” insisted.
The lawmakers’ letter urges Biden to meet with families of Americans detained in China, and that White House and State Department officials meet with families more frequently and share information about their cases. They are calling for more transparency about possible diplomatic measures to win for their loved ones. their own liberation.
Lawmakers also urged U.S. consular officials in China to visit detained Americans more frequently, to ensure “longer and more frequent visits with their families, and adequate access to legal representation and medical care.” “to ensure that.”
At a hearing before the committee last month, Lee’s son Harrison Lee said his father suffered a stroke in prison and lost a tooth, and China has imposed strict restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. He said he was kept in solitary confinement for the better part of three years.
He told lawmakers that now is the time to call for his father’s release, as precious time will be lost after the new government takes office in January.
“The next few months will be critical until President Biden leaves office and we finally negotiate a fair deal to bring my father home,” he said.
