Three Americans freed from China after three years of detention

The White House recently announced that three American citizens who had been detained in China have been released after three years and are set to return to the United States.

A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council confirmed the release of Mark Swiden, Kai Li, and John Liang in a statement issued on Wednesday, November 27.

According to the spokesperson, this is considered a diplomatic victory for U.S. President Joe Biden.

The Biden administration had previously raised the issue of Americans it believes were wrongfully detained with Chinese officials on several occasions.

Notably, Swidan, who had been sentenced to death in 2019, was arrested in 2012 on drug-related charges. Kai Li had been detained in 2016 on espionage charges and was serving a 10-year sentence. Liang was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2023 on espionage charges.

He was a leader of one of the pro-Beijing groups in the U.S. and had maintained close ties with senior Chinese government officials for several years.

The release of these American citizens marks a significant diplomatic achievement for President Biden’s administration and highlights ongoing tensions in U.S.-China relations concerning detained nationals.

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