Washington [US], November 28: The White House said Beijing had released three US citizens in a bilateral prisoner swap that saw Washington lower its travel advisory for China.
The Hill newspaper reported on November 28 that the US State Department has just lowered its warning level for citizens traveling to China, after the White House announced that China had released three US citizens in a bilateral prisoner exchange agreement.
Accordingly, the travel advisory has been lowered from level 3 (reconsider travel) to level 2 (exercise increased caution). The US National Security Council issued a statement saying that all US citizens believed to have been wrongfully detained in China have now been released.
"They will soon return home and reunite with their families for the first time in many years," the statement said, referring to three US citizens Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment. Beijing says such cases are handled according to the law . Politico reports that many Chinese citizens detained in the US will also be released.
Mr. Li has been detained in China since 2016 on espionage charges, which he denies. The Chinese-American businessman owns a business selling solar panels and related technology.
Mr. Li's son, Harrison Li, said his father would land at Joint Base San Antonio in Texas, and thanked US officials. "They delivered results just in time for the holidays," he said, referring to Thanksgiving on November 28.
Businessman Swidan (48 years old) was sentenced to 12 years in prison in China on drug-related charges and in 2019 was given a suspended death sentence.
The remaining US citizen , Mr. Leung (79 years old), was accused of spying for the US and was sentenced to life in prison in China last year.
Senior US officials have raised the issue of the men's release in negotiations with China for years. A White House official said US President Joe Biden pushed for their release when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping recently at an event in Peru.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper