Beijing – chronic pain. mental anguish disappointment
Families of four US citizens detained in China Saying their loved ones are suffering both physically and emotionally, they are calling on the US government to do more to bring them home.
His Sept. 18 appearance before China's Congressional-Executive Committee came days after the surprise release of American pastor David Lynn, who had been held in a Chinese prison for nearly 20 years.
The Du Hua Foundation, which monitors prisoners' rights in China, estimates that about 200 Americans are detained there, more than in any other country. Two of them – Mark Swedan and Kai Li – are considered “wrongfully detained” by the State Department, as is Lin.
The estimate includes Americans who are imprisoned as well as those barred from leaving China while a case is under investigation. D Use of such “exit restrictions”. That prompted the State Department to advise Americans to “reconsider travel” to China — its second strongest category of warnings.
Beijing says all such cases are handled in accordance with the law.
A Letter to President Joe Biden On October 1, Rep. Chris Smith, RN.J. And Jeff Markley, D-Ore., who heads the commission, said he would dedicate the rest of his term to advocating for the release of Americans wrongfully detained in China.
“If the Chinese government wants to improve relations with the United States, it should unconditionally release Americans who have been unjustly imprisoned and stop unilaterally using the 'exit ban,' which is actually a form of hostage taking,” they said in the letter . . , noting that Lee served more prison time than his combined sentences Paul Whelan, Ivan Gershkovich and Alsou Kurmasheva – Three Americans were recently released from a Russian prison
Members of Congress also called for Biden to meet more frequently with the families of Americans detained in China and for State Department and White House officials to meet with them to provide updates.
Securing the release of detained Americans has been difficult for Washington and Beijing — nor has a bilateral prisoner transfer agreement — even after U.S. talks. Complex prisoner exchange With countries like Russia.
This saddens Nelson Wells, whose son Nelson Wells Jr. is imprisoned in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, and Tim Hunt, whose sister Dawn Michelle Hunt is imprisoned in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.
Lee's son, Harrison Lee, was with them in the audience, as was Sweeden's mother, Kathryn Sweeden, who appeared via video. All four represented Americans who had been detained in China for at least eight years.
Wells Sr. told NBC News in an interview that the hearing “gave us a chance to talk to other family members who are going through the same trauma and drama that we are going through, so we can connect.” “And I think because we come together as a unit, it gives us a bigger platform, a bigger voice.”
“We all hugged afterwards and of course I completely lost it,” Hunt said in an interview.
Wells Jr., who is from Louisiana, and Hunt, who is from Chicago, were arrested in China in 2014 in separate incidents. Both were accused of drug smuggling, which their families say they did unwittingly, and were convicted under China's strict anti-drug laws.
Wells Jr. was initially sentenced to life in prison, but in 2019 his sentence was reduced to a fixed term of 22 years, not counting time he had already served. Hunt is serving a life sentence with two years of probation after being sentenced to death.
Now, in their 50s, their health — and hope — is in decline, their families say. The feeling that time is running out is leading prisoners' families to draw more attention to their cases, in the hope of their release.
in his Testimony before the Commission, Wells Sr. said his son suffered from “chronic pain, seizures, malnutrition, internal problems, toothache, severe depression and thoughts of self-harm.”
“He feels alone. He feels helpless. We all feel,” Wells Sr. said. “I don’t know how long I can beg him to stay where he is.”
According to Tim Hunt, his sister may have ovarian cancer but refused surgery because she doesn't trust prison staff.
“My family is being destroyed. We achieve our hopes, only to be disappointed again and again,” he said in his statement.
The families say Nelson Jr. and Don Michel, who are black, were also treated harshly because of their race.
Lin, 68, was released on Sept. 15 and returned to the United States, where he was reunited with his family after nearly 20 years, according to the State Department. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has repeatedly raised the issue of Lin and unfairly detained Americans in his meetings with Chinese officials.
“We continue to press for the release of unjustly detained Americans,” Miller said.
“China is a country governed by the rule of law, and relevant Chinese authorities handle related matters in accordance with the law,” China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement to NBC News following Lin's release. Lin was not specifically mentioned in the statement.
The Wells family was on their way to Washington upon learning of Lynn's release.
“I’m very excited and happy and hopeful for him and his family,” Wells Sr. said.
“But on the other hand it was good, why not us?” He said
Wells Sr. said he and his wife, Cynthia, talk to their son once or twice a month, with calls limited to 10 minutes.
“Sometimes we get calls that make us cry and cry because he’s having a hard time,” she said. “Other times he tries not to put too much pressure on us.”
He said Wells Jr. was “excited” and “very optimistic” about his family’s appearance before the commission.
Wells Sr. said the bipartisan panel seemed interested and engaged, asking questions about a 2018 change in Chinese law that allows some foreign detainees to be transferred for medical, humanitarian or compassionate reasons to serve their sentences in their home country, where may request early release may be able.
“It gets them out of Chinese prisons and brings them home,” said James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based American lawyer who has been in China for more than 25 years and who has advised the Wells and Hunt families.
But, Zimmerman added, families cannot take advantage of this option without action from the U.S. government.
Wells Sr. said he hoped the news of Lynn's release and the new attention from Congress would keep his son positive and “give him at least a little more 'I'm next' motivation.”
Janice McKee Freire reports from Beijing and Jennifer Jett reports from Hong Kong.
