Press Release

                Bipartisan legislation mandating a coordinated U.S. government response to the unjust imprisonment of American citizens in China—and the use of family members as hostages to silence or punish American citizens critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC) and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

                Smith’s bipartisan Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained in Communist China Act (HR 5491) was cosponsored by Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).

                “The Chinese Communist Party unjustly detains and imprisons more Americans than any other country,” said Smith, who has chaired more than 107 congressional hearings on human rights abuses in China.

                “Innocent Americans have been wrongfully imprisoned and tortured by an amoral legal system that has no respect for truth, due process, and basic human rights. It is well past time that the United States responds forcefully and fearlessly to rescue its citizens who have been held hostage by the CCP.”

                Smith identified several people who have endured brutal and illegal treatment at the hands of the CCP, including Nelson Wells Jr. of Louisiana and Dawn Michelle Hunt of Illinois, as well as those imprisoned due to their ties—or their relatives’ ties—to the United States, such as Dr. Gulshan Abbas of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), whose sister was an outspoken journalist at Radio Free Asia, and Ekpar Asat, a State Department International Visitor Leadership Program fellow.

                “It ensures that the U.S. government never accepts silence, delay, or excuses from Beijing in these cases,” said the senior lawmaker and China policy expert.

                Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, said, “Dawn Hunt is a daughter of Chicago, a member of a family that has served our city in uniform, and a victim of a gross miscarriage of justice. She should not be languishing in a Chinese prison with untreated medical conditions, and she certainly shouldn’t be used as leverage by the CCP.”

                “This legislation is about Dawn, and other Americans who are unjustly detained or blocked from returning home by the People’s Republic of China. We must show her family, and all families like hers, that America will never abandon its own,” he continued.

                “These deliberate assaults on the freedoms and livelihoods of American citizens and their families must end, once and for all—and this critical legislation provides the proper vehicle to do so,” noted Smith.

Key provisions of HR 5491 include:

• Creating a “Cases of Concern” list for U.S. nationals and lawful permanent residents unjustly detained in China, including those whose family members are being held as leverage;
• Requiring the Secretary of State to develop a diplomatic action plan within 60 days, including:

o   Appointing a senior coordinator to prioritize the cases of concern list;

o   Exploring international prisoner transfer programs and allied cooperation; and

o   Reviewing sanction authorities and legal tools;

• Mandating a classified report to Congress on:

o   Numbers and details of detained Americans citizens;

o   Exit ban cases;

o   Diplomatic action and accountability efforts; and

o   Recommendations for stronger legislative or funding tools;

• Providing support for families, including case assistance, and travel resources;
• Issuing official “declarations of invalidity” for cleared individuals to remedy the long-term impacts of wrongful imprisonment; and
• Declaring Chinese officials involved in these detentions as responsible for gross human rights violations, making them eligible for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act.

                “I will always fight for the freedoms of Americans and their families detained abroad, and I know that the President shares this same commitment,” stated the renowned human rights legislator.

                “By enabling the U.S. government to use every tool at its disposal—diplomatic, legal, and economic—to obtain the release of internationally detained Americans, this legislation ensures that no citizen can be forgotten or left behind.”

Background on highlighted cases:

• Nelson Wells Jr., a New Orleans native, was arrested in China in 2014 and sentenced to 22 years in prison after being duped into carrying bags allegedly containing narcotics. His family maintains that he was unaware of the drugs. He suffers from chronic pain and untreated medical conditions while imprisoned.
• Dawn Michelle Hunt, from Chicago, was also arrested in 2014 and sentenced to life imprisonment after being lured into a fraudulent sweepstakes scheme. Evidence of her innocence was ignored, and she has endured abuse and medical neglect in detention.
• Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a retired medical doctor from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and U.S. lawful permanent resident, disappeared in 2018 and was later sentenced to 20 years in prison in a sham trial in Xinjiang. Her detention is widely believed to be retaliation against her sister, Rushan Abbas, a U.S. citizen and prominent Uyghur-American human rights advocate, who has spoken publicly against the CCP’s genocide in Xinjian.
• Ekpar Asat, also from the XUAR, is the founder and CEO of the popular Uyghur-language website Bagdax. Chinese officials detained Asat weeks after he attended a leadership program in the U.S. organized by the U.S. State Department. In January of 2019, Chinese authorities wrote to a U.S. Senator that Asat had received a 15-year prison sentence. Details on his sentence, including the court and his whereabouts in custody, are unavailable.
  

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Contact:
Teagan Gambert, Communications Director
(202) 225-3765
http://chrissmith.house.gov