A mother who never gives up, legal action, human rights movements, corporate appeals, congressional resolutions, pressure from the White House, and requests from United Nations agencies are all of no use.
For over a decade, China has been refusing strong demands for the release of Texan Mark Swidan. Sweeden was detained for unknown and unusual reasons. His case shows that, like other Western powers, the United States has very limited influence in advocating for the rights of citizens it claims to be arbitrarily detained by China's opaque judicial system.
The families of Americans detained in China, including some who have not been imprisoned but have been banned from leaving the country, hope that the resumption of high-level contacts between the United States and China this year will lead to the release of their loved ones.   Beijing sometimes makes goodwill gestures during such summits, including granting amnesty to detainees.
But these families are also concerned that due to the stagnation of bilateral contacts, issues involving individual Americans have become second in the long list of major issues facing the United States and China.
John Kamm, head of the Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights organization in San Francisco, said that it is common for criminals to be released before a leader's important trip; But that's a thing of the past.
The Chinese government has stated that it enforces laws without distinction of nationality and opposes so-called foreign interference in its legal affairs.
Last month, just before Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Beijing, Chinese authorities released an Australian citizen who had been detained for three years. Cheng Lei, who was pardoned, was once a host for the official media Global Television Network. A few days before her release, she was sentenced for espionage charges, which were clearly related to her news gathering work. She told an interviewer that China's detention system aims to "make you feel isolated, bored, painful, and hopeless".
The US State Department has publicly classified three Americans as "unjustly detained" in China, including 48 year old Sweeden and two Chinese born, 60 year old US citizens - Long Island businessman Li Kai and California pastor David Lin, all of whom are serving long prison terms. Their family said that all three of them have health issues.
Katherine Swidan, Mark Swidan's mother, said, "I don't understand why these three people are so important to China." She has discussed Mark's case with several US officials. She referred to her son as a "chess piece" between the United States and China. She said, "We have money, power, and people. Just find out what they want (in exchange)
The US's reference to "improper" detention indicates that the US believes that these individuals are being detained at least in part because of their US citizenship. Therefore, compared to representing ordinary detainees (such as those convicted of violent crimes), US diplomats have a stronger right to demand the release of these improperly detained Americans.
The US State Department stated that US officials have repeatedly raised these cases in contact with Chinese officials.   A spokesperson for the US State Department said, "Considering the sensitivity of these dialogues, we do not publicly discuss these efforts, but the related work is still ongoing
The United States has also accused a few other countries of improperly detaining Americans, including Russia, where Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan were imprisoned. Both faced espionage charges, but both denied the charges.
Current and former US officials say that the possible conditions for changing prisoners that China may accept are far less obvious than those of countries such as Russia and Iran, which have released detained US citizens through clear transactions. They say the answer may be to meet China's demand that the United States transfer certain individuals wanted for criminal charges in China, or make adjustments to US policies unrelated to judicial issues.
Another legal dilemma faced by Americans and other non Chinese citizens in China is that even if they are not prosecuted, relevant authorities will prevent them from leaving the country. The US State Department has warned that the exit ban is an increasing risk for Americans in China, but it has not been announced how many US citizens are subject to these exit restrictions.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the recent ban has affected executives of American risk consulting firms Kroll and Mintz Group, as well as an employee of Japanese financial company Nomura. Henry Cai, a self-employed businessman from California, was previously restricted from leaving China due to a debt dispute, and he is concerned that his exit ban will soon enter its seventh year.
The pitfalls in China's legal system are a major concern for Western governments and human rights organizations, although they also acknowledge that the difficulties faced by Chinese citizens and non Western foreigners are often more severe. In October, Human Rights Watch stated that the Chinese authorities had forcibly repatriated over 500 individuals who had fled North Korea, and these individuals may face torture upon returning home.
Harrison Li stated that President Joe Biden needs to leverage a series of ongoing dialogues between China and the United States to strive for the release of my father Li Kai and other Americans who have been improperly detained in China. Harrison Li recently made this request in a letter to Biden.
Li Kai purchased aerospace equipment in China and was later detained in 2016, accused of providing confidential information to US authorities. Li Kai's defense argued that these "secrets" were easily found online and his communication with US agencies was wrongly described, but this defense was unsuccessful.
Pastor David Lin was initially sentenced to life imprisonment on fraud charges, and his supporters believed that this was an excuse for imprisoning him. The real reason was that he preached in China and sponsored unauthorized churches in China. His sentence has been reduced more than once, the most recent being around last year's Xi Jinping meeting. David Lin will be released from prison in December 2029. His daughter exclaimed that it was God's grace that he could live to this day.
In addition, as China began to reconnect with US officials, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns was granted permission to visit all three Americans deemed to have been improperly detained. But the US State Department stated that the Chinese government mainly sets obstacles in routine affairs, including hindering consular visits that should have been conducted monthly under bilateral treaties. During the closure of COVID-19 in China, many visiting activities were interrupted, while others were conducted online.
According to supporters of Swaitan, his detention seems to have been arbitrary since the Chinese police first arrested him about 11 years ago. In 2019, a working group on arbitrary detention by the United Nations Human Rights Council agreed and called on the Chinese government to immediately release Swiitan. This year, a Chinese court rejected Sweeden's appeal.
Sweeden's difficult journey began at the end of his first trip to China in 2012, when Sweeden went to buy flooring and furniture. Sweeden's mother claimed that Sweeden was on the phone talking to her about the transaction he had seen (partly for the house they bought in Texas) when the police rushed in and cut off the phone. The relevant authorities found methamphetamine on local drivers and translators in Sweeden, and the police told Sweeden that he was detained as a potential witness in a drug case.
More than a month later, Sweeden was charged with involvement in a drug manufacturing and distribution gang. However, according to the United Nations, the prosecution claimed that he was a secondary role and suggested a lighter sentence for him. The evidence linking him to drug activities is rumored, and he was not in China at the time of the alleged criminal act.
A year later, Sweeden was put on trial. It took the court over five years to reach a verdict of guilt and provide a new statement that he was the main culprit in the drug trade. He was sentenced to death, but according to relevant regulations, he was actually imprisoned for life. Sweeden has always maintained his innocence.
During the investigation by the aforementioned United Nations agency, the Chinese government claimed that Swedan "confessed during the investigation phase" and stated that the evidence showed that he was the "principal offender". For supporters of Sweeden, any confession Sweeden may make is the result of severe psychological torture.
Kamm has contributed to the research of the aforementioned United Nations agencies. He said that in the list of prisoners he referred to as related to the United States that he handed over to Chinese officials, Sweeden's name has been mentioned more than 45 times. Kamm's list now has 21 names, and he said he often tells Chinese officials, "If you want to improve relations with the United States, why not release some Americans, such as Mark.
Sweeden's mother, who is 73 years old, said she worked as a credit manager at Dell and learned to persevere in the process of collecting bills. She said that since 2018, she has never had a phone conversation with Sweeden again, but she has received some letters and pictures depicting Sweeden's terrible situation. She said that during his time at the detention center in Guangdong Province, he lost a lot of teeth, left a scar on his face, and his hands were also broken. She said, "He was called a Renaissance person because he never gave up