3 Americans Jailed in China Returning Home After Diplomatic Deal

The Epoch Times Header

The detained Americans have spent years in Chinese jail.

Three Americans imprisoned in China for years are returning to the United States following a diplomatic agreement between Washington and Beijing.

The three are Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung, businessmen whom the United States said China had detained on wrongful charges.

โ€œSoon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years,โ€ a National Security Council spokesperson told The Epoch Times. With their release, the spokesperson said, โ€œall of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home.โ€

The announcement caps off months of negotiations between the Biden administration and China over the deal.

It also follows the release in September of Pastor David Lin, who was arrested in China while on a missionary trip in 2006 and later received a life sentence. A Chinese national serving a nine-month sentence for cyberstalking and threatening a pro-democracy fellow student was freed early from a Pennsylvania prison and returned to China a day after Linโ€™s release.

Swidan has spent more than a decade in Chinese jail over drug-related charges. A Chinese court sentenced him to death in 2019.

Li, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was convicted of espionage in a short secret trial and put under a 10-year sentence in Shanghai. His son Harrison Li, a Stanford student studying for a doctorate in statistics, said his father had suffered a stroke and lost a tooth during the time in captivity.

โ€œEvery day I wake up, I shudder at the thought of him crammed in that tiny cell with anywhere from seven to 11 other people,โ€ he said in a congressional hearing in September that put a spotlight on the detention of Americans in China.

Hong Kong-born American Leung, who is now 79, outwardly aligned with pro-Beijing narratives. As a prominent Chinese community leader in Texas, he headed groups that promoted Chinese influence in America and supported the regimeโ€™s stance on Taiwan and Hong Kong. Chinese state media have praised him as โ€œpatrioticโ€ and noted that during Chinese leadersโ€™ U.S. trips, Leung had met with them many times as an โ€œoutstanding Chinese representative.โ€

Byย Eva Fu

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

Columns

More Proof, the Democratic Party is Imploding!

Jason Pizzo, the leading Democrat in the Florida Senate announced his departure from the Democratic Party saying he sees the party as dead in Florida.

American Psychiatric Association vs. MAHA: Shots Fired

When Trump formed the MAHA Commission, the parameters were so reasonable that it was hard to imagine how the biomedical establishment could object.

Evaluating Foreign Affairsโ€™ Warning About The Risks Of An Emboldened & Remilitarized Germany

Foreign Affairs warned earlier this month that an emboldened...

9 Things to Know About UK Supreme Court Ruling on Sex, Gender

Britainโ€™s highest court has ruled that the words โ€œwomanโ€ and โ€œsexโ€ refer to โ€œa biological woman and biological sex,โ€ in a landmark decision.

Chinese Exporters Begin to Feel Pain of Tariffs as Containers Stack Up

Chinaโ€™s exporters are scrambling to find domestic buyers for their consumer goods as orders from the U.S. have dried up during an escalating trade war.

News

Dozens of House Democrats Seek Answers on DOGE Report

House Dems sent letter to Trump admin seeking answers regarding โ€œwhistleblower reportโ€ from federal labor board staffer with allegations against DOGE.

FBI Arrests Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan Over Obstructing, Kash Patel Says

FBI arrested a Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, circuit judge for allegedly assisting an illegal immigrant in evading arrest, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

Former New Mexico Judge, Wife Arrested Over Alleged Evidence Tampering

Inmate bookingreports released by Doรฑa Ana County Detention Center show Judge Cano and his wife were arrested for evidence tampering.

Judge Blocks Trump Admin Effort to Remove DEI From Public Schools

Before deadline for states to certify DEI programs have ended in public schools, a federal court halted Trump adminโ€™s requirement, siding with NEA teachersโ€™ union.

Trumpโ€™s Agenda Faces Pushback Amid Legal Battles

Trump faces onslaught of challenges to his agenda, some reaching the nationโ€™s highest court and could ultimately shape US legal landscape.

Texas Governor Signs โ€˜Texas DOGEโ€™ Into Law to Cut Regulations, Boost Government Efficiency

Texas Gov. Abbott signed Regulatory Reform and Efficiency Act to streamline govt processes and reduce regulatory burden on businesses and residents.

Federal Judge Blocks Trumpโ€™s Directive to Require Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration

A judge on April 24 blocked President Trumpโ€™s ordering that officials require people provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote.

24-Year-Old Highland Park Shooter Sentenced to Life In Prison

A man who shot and killed a slew of people at a 2022 Fourth of July parade north of Chicago was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
spot_img

Related Articles