Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on the release of three American prisoners who had been wrongfully detained in China:

            “We are overjoyed that Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung are finally being released from their wrongful detention in China and that their family members—including those who shared testimony at the congressional hearing I chaired in September—received the news in time for Thanksgiving.

            While their release is cause for celebration, we must not forget the other Americans who continue to languish in Chinese prisons, including Nelson Wells and Dawn Hunt, whose families also testified at my hearing on ‘Bringing Home Americans Detained in China.’ 

            Tragically, they and many others remain wrongfully detained in Xi Jinping’s Communist China, where there is no adequate due process of law. Some are imprisoned simply due to their ties with the United States, such as Ekpar Asat—who participated in the State Department’s International Visitor’s Leadership Program and was arrested upon his return to China—and Gulshan Abbas, whose sister was a Radio Free Asia journalist. 

            We appeal to President Trump to make their release a priority as we know he will be a tough advocate for American interests vis-à-vis China and for American citizens held captive by the Chinese Communist Party.”

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