Bringing Home Americans Detained in China

There are more Americans detained in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) than anywhere else in the world. Following the high-profile release of Americans unjustly jailed in Russia, attention to the cases of Americans imprisoned in China, many jailed for over or nearly a decade, remains a pressing diplomatic concern. 

U.S. citizens Kai Li and Mark Swidan are serving long prison sentences in China. Each is considered by the U.S. State Department to be “unjustly detained,” affording them the diplomatic attention of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs.  Yet, they both remain imprisoned with no clear diplomatic progress made in gaining their release, and each faces ongoing health concerns while in prison. The CECC Chairs urged President Biden to raise these cases and others with Xi Jinping by name during the November 2023 APEC Summit in San Francisco. Gaining their freedom should be a priority of the Administration in the upcoming months. Still, there are other Americans currently serving long prison sentences in China who are not well known and who also did not receive a fair and transparent trial, with a genuine defense, in front of an independent judge, in an impartial court. These prisoners also face serious health challenges because of the poor conditions in PRC prisons, often experience torture or mistreatment by guards and other prisoners and suffer from insufficient medical care and nutrition. 

Representatives of American prisoners currently held in Chinese jails, former prisoners in China, and experts in the PRC’s prison system will testify at the hearing examining how to focus greater diplomatic attention on the cases of Americans detained in China and what more can be done to secure their release. 

The hearing can be viewed on the CECC’s YouTube Channel.

Hearing transcript.