American businessman Mark Swidan is on death row with a suspended death sentence.
Mr. Swidan was arrested in China over a decade ago on drug-related charges. He’s been in Chinese prison since then. The House introduced a bill earlier this year, calling on Beijing to immediately release Swidan.
“Mr. Swidan is an American, a Texan, and a hostage of the Chinese Communist Party for more than a decade” Rep. Michael McCaul, (R) Texas
Then there’s U.S. pastor David Lin. Lin was originally from China and became a Christian after coming to the U.S. He later went back to China to share his beliefs. Mr. Lin was active in house church activities there and was arrested. Beijing only allows participation in China’s state-sanctioned churches. He’s set to be released in 2030.
Another is Li-Kai, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China. He was detained on a 2016 visit to relatives in Shanghai and is now serving a ten year prison sentence.
“Never would we have imagined in our wildest dreams that he’d be whisked away by agents of China’s ministry of state security on these charges of espionage,” Harrison Li, son of Li-Kai
Just this May, China sentenced a 78-year-old American citizen to life in prison. The charge is related to spying. China did not give details. The State Department has warned Americans to reconsider travel to China.