Lawmakers are calling on President Joe Biden to use the remaining time in his term to work toward the release of Americans “wrongfully detained” in China. They say U.S. officials must do more to secure their freedom.
“More Americans have been wrongfully detained in China than in any other country. American citizens are serving long prison sentences in China; most were convicted because of acute trial irregularities or on false charges,” Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon wrote in a letter to the president.
“Many suffer severe abuse in detention and have developed serious physical and mental health problems due to a lack of adequate nutrition or medical care in Chinese prisons. They deserve persistent advocacy to win their release,” said Smith and Merkley, co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
Lawmakers recently oversaw hearings in which families of inmates spoke about how their loved ones suffer psychologically and physically without legal action.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has denied the allegations, saying it has treated the detained Americans properly and respected their legal rights.
Human rights groups have made similar accusations about the status of Americans behind bars in China. The precise number of U.S. citizens held under questionable conditions remains unclear, and estimates vary. Families of imprisoned Americans and human rights defenders say the U.S. government should expand its list of those deemed “wrongfully detained.”
The State Department acknowledges that three Americans have been wrongfully detained in China, including David Lin, a pastor who was released last month. The other two Americans are Kai Li and Mark Swidan.
Dui Hua, a rights group that advocates for detainees in China, estimates that more than 200 Americans are “under coercive measures” in China.
Li, from Long Island, New York, was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in 2018 for espionage. His family says the charges are unfounded. Swidan, a Texas businessman, was arrested in 2012 and convicted in 2019 on drug-related charges. His lawyers say he was not in China at the time of the alleged crime.
In their letter to Biden, the lawmakers said Li has spent more time behind bars than three Americans recently released from prison in Russia, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, combined. “This has to change,” they wrote.
“The release of Americans should be a top priority in all upcoming meetings with the People’s Republic of China [People’s Republic of China] General Secretary and President Xi Jinping,” the letter said.
The Chinese government is using “exit bans” to wrongfully detain Americans “to settle economic disputes or to force their family members to return to China to face alleged crimes,” the lawmakers wrote.
“If the Chinese government wants to improve relations with the United States, it must release unjustly imprisoned Americans without conditions and unilaterally end the use of ‘exit bans,’ a form of de facto hostage-taking,” they said.
The lawmakers’ letter also asks Biden to meet with the families of Americans detained in China, and to have White House and State Department officials meet with them more frequently to provide information about to share their affairs and be more transparent about possible diplomatic avenues to win over their loved one. someone’s release.
The lawmakers called on U.S. consular officials in China to visit detained Americans more frequently, “ensure longer and more frequent visits with their families, and ensure adequate access to legal representation and health care.”
At a hearing last month before the committee, Li’s son Harrison Li said his father had suffered a stroke and lost a tooth while in prison, and that he had been locked in a cell for most of three years when China Covid pandemic imposed drastic restrictions.
He told lawmakers that valuable time will be lost after a new government takes office in January and that now was the time to push for his father’s release.
“The coming months will be critical before President Biden leaves office to … negotiate a fair deal that will finally bring my father home,” he said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
