Hearing Explores Issue of Wrongfully Detained Americans in China

September 19, 2024

(Washington)—Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), held a hearing to explore the cases of wrongfully detained Americans in China.  The hearing, entitled “Bringing Home Americans Detained in China,” highlighted the fact that more Americans are detained in China than in any other country, and explored the diplomatic options available to gain the release of American prisoners such Kai Li, Nelson Wells, Jr., and Dawn Michelle Hunt, among many others.

In addition to the Chairs, Representatives Zach Nunn (R-IA) and Michelle Steel (R-CA) also participated in the hearing. 

In his opening statement, CECC Chair Smith said that “the release of American citizens should be the first thing President Biden mentions to Communist Party leader Xi Jinping whenever they talk.  Their names should be said so often that Xi Jinping memorizes them. Their cases should be agenda item #1 at every meeting the Secretary of State takes with Chinese officials. And every U.S. official traveling to China should be repeatedly saying the names of Kai Li, Mark Swidan, Nelson Wells, Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt. Every channel of the U.S. Government must be focused on the release of wrongfully detained Americans.”  

CECC Cochair Merkley said in his opening statement, “Reportedly, China wrongly holds more Americans than any other country. We want to know why the Chinese government refuses to allow them to come home. Our U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, has met with three Americans wrongfully detained. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised their cases directly with President Xi. But despite these efforts, despite the tools we have and the representations made, the Chinese government continues to turn a blind eye to the suffering and the heartbreak. So today we not only hear your stories; your stories represent the stories of so many American families of those detained. And they help inform the details of the circumstances and help us ponder what more we can do.”

Nelson Wells Sr., the father of detained American Nelson Wells, Jr., said in his testimony that “in the beginning, we heeded warnings not to shine a public light on Nelson’s story out of fear of retaliation against him, but his declining health has forced us to escalate our efforts to share his story and gain attention for him in the hopes of mounting political and public pressure and ultimately diplomatic intervention for his release. He has suffered from debilitating chronic pain, seizures, malnutrition, internal issues, dental pain, severe depression and thoughts of self-harm…we fear that he will die in prison from physical or mental illness and without our ever seeing him again.”

Harrison Li said in his testimony that “time is running out” for his father, detained American Kai Li, imprisoned now for eight years. “No matter who wins November’s presidential election, we will experience a change of administration. We know (from experience, unfortunately) that that means months or years where no progress will be made as bilateral relationships and communication channels are re-formed. The next few months will be critical before President Biden leaves office to…negotiate a fair deal that will finally bring my dad home. Simply mentioning my dad’s name in bilateral engagements won’t be enough. And so we need all of you to raise your voices these next few weeks and call on President Biden to stop ignoring us and lead a wholehearted effort to bring my dad home before he leaves office.”

Tim Hunt, the brother of Dawn Michelle Hunt, detained in China since 2014, said about his family’s ordeal, “We are getting worn down. We’ve gotten our hopes up, only to be disappointed again and again. The hearing that you’re having regarding the cases of unjustly detained Americans in China offers new hope. Chapter 8, ‘‘Transfer of Sentenced Persons,’’ in the Law of the People’s Republic of China on International Judicial Assistance in Criminal Matters, offers a path for Americans incarcerated in China to come home and it doesn’t require a bilateral prisoner transfer treaty. This hearing gives my family a bit more hope that not only will my sister, who was unjustly detained, have a path to come home but also other unjustly detained Americans as well. We need the CECC’s help, and we need its advocacy to bring our loved ones home.”  

Peter Humphrey, former prisoner and expert on foreign prisoners in China, said that “the most important lesson from all this is that not a single American prisoner held in China—or any other prisoner, for that matter—has had a fair and transparent trial and a proper defense. China’s judicial system is a political system of oppression, not a system of justice…No judge is independent or impartial. The system is exploited by connected individuals to harm their perceived opponents and rivals. Cases are built upon forced confessions, which have often been televised, and on forced witness statements. Inside China’s prisons, the prisoners, including Americans, are subjected to horrendous daily living conditions, in addition to forced labor for the prison’s commercial profit; the withholding of proper medical treatment, even for cancer; and writing mandatory thought reports, i.e. brainwashing, to mention just a few things.”  

In closing, Representative Smith announced plans to introduce bipartisan legislation that will, among other measures, 

• Direct the State Department to create a strategy for gaining the release of unjustly detained Americans in China; 
• Review the diplomatic tools the State Department is using to gain their release, including the use of designations and sanctions authorized in Executive Order No. 14078, “Bolstering Efforts to Bring Hostages and Wrongfully Detained United States Nationals Home”; and
• Seek more transparent information from the State Department about the cases of wrongfully detained Americans, including gaining access to the resources Congress allocated to assist families with the financial burden of advocacy.     

Submitted testimony from Katherine Swidan, the mother of unjustly detained American Mark Swidan, and the Foley Foundation are available on the CECC's hearing webpage along with opening statements by the Chairs, witness testimony, and a video archive of the hearing.