US lawmakers urge Biden administration to secure release of unjustly detained citizens in China – JURIST
US lawmakers urged the Biden administration in a hearing on Wednesday to intensify efforts to secure the release of Americans allegedly unjustly detained in China.
Representative Chris Smith and Senator Jeff Merkley, co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), alongside representatives Zach Nunn and Michelle Steel, emphasised the need to prioritise the release of Americans from Chinese prisons at the hearing, In his opening statement, Representative Smith said:
The release of American citizens should be the first thing President Biden mentions to Communist Party leader Xi Jinping whenever they talk. Their names should be said so often that Xi Jinping memorizes them. Their cases should be [the first] agenda item … at every meeting the Secretary of State takes with Chinese officials. And every US official traveling to China should be repeatedly saying the names of Kai Li, Mark Swidan, Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt. Every channel of the US government must be focused on the release of wrongfully detained Americans.
On Monday, the US State Department confirmed that David Lin, an American pastor the US alleges was wrongfully detained since 2009, has been released. Lin was originally arrested in 2009 after he attempted to create a Christian training centre in Beijing. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to life on the charge of “contract fraud.” Lin’s release comes after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan wrapped up a three-day trip to Beijing to meet with top Chinese officials.