Three Americans -- two of them Chinese Americans -- have returned to the US in time for Thanksgiving after years of imprisonment in China.
As the Biden administration wrapped up negotiations before transferring power to the incoming administration in January, the White House announced the released of Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, all of whom had been wrongfully detained by Peoples Republic of China (PRC), according to the US government.
Swidan, 48, of Texas had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while Li, 60, of Huntington, New York and Leung, a 78-year old US citizen who, until his arrest, was described as pro-Beijing, were imprisoned on espionage charges. Kai has been detained since 2016 and Leung has been in prison since 2021.
“Thanks to this administration’s efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home,” said a US government spokesperson.
As the Biden administration wrapped up negotiations before transferring power to the incoming administration in January, the White House announced the released of Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, all of whom had been wrongfully detained by Peoples Republic of China (PRC), according to the US government.
Swidan, 48, of Texas had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while Li, 60, of Huntington, New York and Leung, a 78-year old US citizen who, until his arrest, was described as pro-Beijing, were imprisoned on espionage charges. Kai has been detained since 2016 and Leung has been in prison since 2021.
“Thanks to this administration’s efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home,” said a US government spokesperson.
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| People's Republic of China recently released, from left: Kai Li, John Leung and Mark Swidan. |
The release of the three Americans was made possible as part of a prisoner swap involving three unidentified Chinese nationals who had been detained by the US.
In a statement addressing Li's release, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer credited Mr. Biden's "personal engagement with President Xi" with securing the release of all three men. The prsoner swap was apparently one of the topics discussed between Biden and PRC President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, earlier in November.
"For the families of those Americans newly freed by the Chinese government, this Thanksgiving there is so much to be thankful for," Schumer stated.
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