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La Jornada Newspaper
Thursday, November 28, 2024, p. 25
Washington. China freed three Americans who will be exchanged for Chinese citizens in US custody, in what is seen as a major achievement by President Joe Biden.
The State Department and White House confirmed the release of Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung.
There was no official information from China on the subject.
They are the last prisoners classified by the State Department in the category of detainees unfairly in China, although activists and relatives maintain that there are other cases.
They will soon return and be reunited with their loved ones.commented a spokesperson for the State Department on the eve of Thanksgiving Day, an American holiday.
Thanks to the efforts of this administration and diplomacy with the People’s Republic of China, all unjustly detained Americans are homeadded the official.
The three Chinese citizens were not identified.
Swidan was arrested on drug charges in late 2012 while on a business trip to China. His family and those who support him maintain that there was never any evidence against him and that it was his driver and his interpreter who accused him.
Kai Li, born in Shanghai and naturalized American, ran an aeronautical technology export company. He was arrested in 2016 and convicted of espionage due to the alleged delivery of state secrets to Washington.
Leung, an American over 70 years old with permanent residence in Hong Kong, was also convicted of espionage. China revealed few details about his case when he was first detained in 2021, but he was later accused of spying on Chinese officials for the United States.
Washington wanted to finalize the releases before the end of Biden’s term, at the end of January. The leader raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum summit in Peru in mid-November.
Analysts say China is trying to show that if Washington cooperates, it is willing to work constructively on certain areas of common concern.
