“Say their Names” – Families call on Blinken to take a China trip to release U.S. detainees
By Humeyra Pauk and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Katherine Swidan has never seen a single photograph of Mark Swidan in the past decade, despite him being imprisoned in China over 10 years. He spoke to her in 2018 when she was just a few years old.
The families of the other Americans held in China are also hoping that Antony Blinken (U.S. Secretary for State) can pressure the Chinese authorities to release their loved ones.
Katherine Swidan, a telephone interviewer from Luling, Texas said that “My message to Blinken was: Say their names.” “They are American citizens. They have been wrongfully detained. It’s enough.
Mark Swidan, a Texas businessman, was convicted on drug-related charges by a Chinese court despite the absence of evidence. He was given a reprieve and death sentence in 2019. A United Nations working group concluded that he was arbitrarily held in violation of international laws.
Recent high-profile prisoner swaps by the Biden administration, including Brittney Griner, a basketball star, being released from Russia in return for a convicted Russian arms dealer have prompted calls for Washington’s assistance for U.S. citizens in China who have been held for more than a decade without any consular contact.
The detainee issue is often lost in the larger complexity of the U.S.-China relations, which have fallen to their lowest point in decades.
Griner is not the only American citizen held in China.
Families of Americans detained say freedom should not be tied to difficult policy issues. Instead, they believe that humanitarian concerns should be dealt with in a separate track.
Harrison Li, the son Chinese American Kai Li who has been held in China since 2016, said that “this cannot not be treated as long-term policy exercise.”
“My father, he isn’t a complex issue in policy.” Li stated that it was a clear issue about an innocent American citizen being used by the Chinese government as a pawn to extract something.
In 2018, a Chinese court sentenced his father to ten years in prison for espionage. Kai Li denies all charges.
Li stated that there have been discussions between Washington and Beijing in recent months over detained Americans in China, but they didn’t go anywhere. Secretary Blinken should use his trip next month to bring this matter to the forefront and continue the negotiations.
WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY?
Senior Biden officials, including Assistant Secretary to State Daniel Kritenbrink, informed Chinese counterparts that the U.S. president has made it a priority to secure the release of U.S. citizens being wrongfully held or prohibited from exiting China.
According to sources familiar, President Joe Biden raised this issue in November when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not mention the names of detained Americans.
According to a source familiar with Blinken’s plans, the U.S. top diplomat will raise the names high-profile detainees Mark Swidan and Kai Li, as well as David Lin, an American pastor held in China since 2006.
When asked by Reuters about its efforts to secure the release of prisoners, the State Department refused to provide details on “ongoing diplomatic discussions.” However, a spokesperson for the department told Reuters that Blinken is “personally focused on and prioritizes bringing back U.S. citizens wrongfully held” in China.
The United States does no provide any official figures on the number of Americans held abroad. But, The Dui Hua Foundation (a non-profit that advocates for the release and rehabilitation of political prisoners in China), estimates that more than 200 Americans are being wrongfully detained or are subject to coercive measures such as exit bans.
John Kamm is the chairman of Dui Hua and believes that China may be willing to compromise on the detention of prisoners for the good of their overall relationship with America.
Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the U.S House, made a strained visit to Taiwan last year. But U.S. officials said that China wants to stabilize relations given its domestic economic headwinds.
“The area where China can make concessions to improve the relationship – which is what they say they want to do – is in the area prisoner releases,” Kamm said.
“We have a chance. “I hope that this is being pushed very, very strongly.”
(Editing done by Himani Sarkar & Don Durfee