The United States and China conducted a three-for-three prisoner exchange.
This was reported by a senior official of the Biden administration to Politico.
China released Americans Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung in exchange for three unidentified Chinese nationals. The exchange is the result of years of intense negotiations between White House and State Department officials and their Chinese counterparts.
- Mark Swidan. The 48-year-old Texas businessman had been on death row since 2012 on charges of drug trafficking. He himself denied the charges, the State Department classified him as falsely detained and previously expressed concern about his health. Markʼs family expressed fears earlier this year that he might kill himself in prison.
- Kai Lee. The 60-year-old man had been in prison since 2016 on charges of espionage, where he suffered a stroke.
- John Leung. A 78-year-old man arrested in 2021 received a life sentence for espionage.
The three men are expected to return to the US "within hours". Upon arrival, they will likely be transferred to Brooke Military Medical Center outside San Antonio, Texas, which has facilities to psychologically evaluate former hostages and prepare them for reintegration into American society.
As Politico suggests, Beijing hopes that the release of the Americans will prompt the State Department to reconsider its warning to Americans about travel to China. China sees the recommendation as an obstacle to restoring business and tourist travel to pre-pandemic levels.
The State Department introduced the recommendation because of "arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including travel bans, and the risk of wrongful detention."
- Over the past four years, the United States has repatriated more than 70 Americans from countries such as Russia, Venezuela and Iran.
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