{"id":19245,"date":"2024-11-27T16:02:07","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T16:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19245"},"modified":"2024-11-27T16:02:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T16:02:07","slug":"3-americans-held-for-years-in-china-released-white-house-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19245","title":{"rendered":"3 Americans held for years in China released, White House says"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\">\n<p>Three imprisoned Americans have been released after years of detention in China, the White House said Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung have been released, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said, and they will soon &#8220;return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration has repeatedly raised the issue of wrongfully detained Americans with Chinese officials. President Biden spoke with <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/biden-chinese-xi-jinping-meeting-peru\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/a><\/span> about the issue on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru earlier in November. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"newsletter_signup \">\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-newsletter-widget embed--float-none embed--size-large embed--type-iframe\" data-ads=\"{&quot;wordCount&quot;:50}\">\n<\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<p><span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/china-blinken-wrongfully-detained-americans-chinese\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Secretary of State Antony Blinken<\/a><\/span> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/video\/national-security-adviser-jake-sullivan-in-beijing-for-talks-with-top-chinese-officials\/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan<\/a> spoke to foreign minister Wang Yi about the release of wrongfully detained Americans during multiple meetings in recent months.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Thanks to this Administration&#8217;s efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home,&#8221; the National Security Council spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\"><span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2023\/06\/17\/706fa1f6-66e4-4d4f-a270-ad21dc7c4c55\/thumbnail\/620x450g2\/2d95f55fa19011520f20e4b96e183217\/screenshot-2023-06-16-at-9-18-03-pm.png?v=e3aa8b4a58817620ee227c79202c9709#\" alt=\"screenshot-2023-06-16-at-9-18-03-pm.png \" height=\"450\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2023\/06\/17\/706fa1f6-66e4-4d4f-a270-ad21dc7c4c55\/thumbnail\/620x450g2\/2d95f55fa19011520f20e4b96e183217\/screenshot-2023-06-16-at-9-18-03-pm.png?v=e3aa8b4a58817620ee227c79202c9709 1x\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20viewBox%3D'0%200%20620%20450'%2F%3E\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\"><span class=\"embed__caption\">Mark Swidan has been detained in China since 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Swidan, a 48-year-old Texas businessman, was on death row in China. He had been behind bars since 2012 after being charged with narcotics trafficking. Swidan has denied the charges, which the U.S. says are trumped-up. The <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/china-blinken-wrongfully-detained-americans-chinese\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">State Department<\/a><\/span> categorized him as wrongly detained, and has previously raised concerns about his health. His family said earlier this year they feared Swidan <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/mark-swidan-china-wrongfully-detained-update\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">might take his own life<\/a><\/span> while detained.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Li, 60, has been held in a Chinese prison since September 2016. He had a stroke in prison, <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/china-david-lin-pastor-released-us-says-wrongfully-detained-18-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">according to John Kamm<\/a><\/span>, executive director of Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights group that pushes for the release of those detained in China. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\"><span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2024\/11\/27\/c0bcaae1-b912-4edf-b1fe-63f2a91847ed\/thumbnail\/620x413\/0ae61e2a727f54e0c8121e4f402a0465\/ap24332508570180.jpg?v=e3aa8b4a58817620ee227c79202c9709#\" alt=\"United-States-China-Americans-Released \" height=\"413\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2024\/11\/27\/c0bcaae1-b912-4edf-b1fe-63f2a91847ed\/thumbnail\/620x413\/0ae61e2a727f54e0c8121e4f402a0465\/ap24332508570180.jpg?v=e3aa8b4a58817620ee227c79202c9709 1x, https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2024\/11\/27\/c0bcaae1-b912-4edf-b1fe-63f2a91847ed\/thumbnail\/1240x826\/b3e8a1972eb587e5ad68f2b0d408d44e\/ap24332508570180.jpg?v=e3aa8b4a58817620ee227c79202c9709 2x\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20viewBox%3D'0%200%20620%20413'%2F%3E\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\"><span class=\"embed__caption\">Harrison Li holds a photo of his father, Kai Li, as he poses for a photo, Jan. 23, 2024, in Palo Alto, Calif.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Jeff Chiu\/AP<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Leung, 78, was arrested in 2021 and <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/john-shing-wan-leung-american-citizen-sentenced-life-in-prison-china\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">sentenced to life in prison<\/a><\/span> for espionage in May 2023. Few details have been shared about the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a statement addressing Li&#8217;s release, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer credited Mr. Biden&#8217;s &#8220;personal engagement with President Xi&#8221; with securing the release of the three men.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For the families of those Americans newly freed by the Chinese government, this Thanksgiving there is so much to be thankful for,&#8221; Schumer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/china-david-lin-pastor-released-us-says-wrongfully-detained-18-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">David Lin<\/a><\/span>, a 68-year-old American pastor imprisoned on fraud charges for 18 years, was released by China in September.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation \">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">More from CBS News<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p><!-- tags --><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-author\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/team\/kerry-breen\/\" class=\"content-author__name\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Kerry Breen<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-author__bio\">\n<div class=\"content-author__full-information\">\n<p class=\"content-author__text\">Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University&#8217;s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News&#8217; TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr style=\"border-top: 2px solid #ccc; margin-top: 20px;\">\n<p><em>Source: <\/em> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/politics.einnews.com\/article\/764267242\/R6tnUKS_E2Ne24H5?ref=rss&amp;ecode=kmfm9fDbRbj4OPCJ\">politics.einnews.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three imprisoned Americans have been released after years of detention in China, the White House said Wednesday.\u00a0 Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung have been released, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said, and they will soon &#8220;return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years.&#8221;\u00a0 The Biden [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19245\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}