Lawmakers and families of China“>detained Americans
in China are urging the United States to raise its travel warning for the country to the highest level due to concerns over arbitrary arrests. At a congressional hearing on September 18, Peter Humphrey, a former British journalist and fraud investigator who was imprisoned in China for nearly two years, stated that “nobody is safe in China.” The hearing featured four Americans whose family members had spent eight years or more in Chinese jails. This issue has gained renewed attention following the release of David Lin, an American-Chinese pastor who was held by China’s ruling Communist Party for 18 years.Currently, the State Department advises Americans to reconsider traveling to China due to “arbitrary enforcement of local laws” and instances of individuals being barred from leaving or wrongfully detained. Witnesses at the hearing, along with Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), argued that raising the travel warning level to its highest would help prevent similar stories from occurring again.
According to estimates from Humphrey and human rights group Dui Hua Foundation, there are over 200 Americans under detention or other coercive measures in China. Beijing has held more American prisoners than any other nation worldwide since Congress established CECC in 2000 as a means of monitoring human rights abuses in communist China.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) emphasized that addressing these detentions is crucial within U.S.-China dialogue. He believes that leveraging economic interests can be used as leverage for change: “When China is interested in improving the relationship because of many interests they have related to the United States… it gives us leverage.”
Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) described this issue as part of Beijing’s tactic to build a warehouse of potential detainees for future concessions from the United States. Raising travel warnings is seen as an initial step but only part of a larger strategy employed by China against America.
Rep. Smith intends to introduce legislation providing resources and strategies for securing freedom for those with loved ones detained in China: “This is American human rights being violated with impunity,” he stated.
The article also highlights specific cases such as Harrison Li’s father serving a 10-year sentence on espionage charges deemed arbitrary by U.N experts; Nelson Wells Jr., who remains detained almost ten years after his arrest suffering from chronic pain and severe depression; Dawn Michelle Hunt facing death penalty after being tricked into carrying drugs; and her deteriorating health conditions during imprisonment preventing her from lifting heavy objects due to uterine bleeding.
These heart-wrenching stories shed light on how detention affects both detainees’ physical well-being and their families’ emotional distress while emphasizing why action must be taken regarding this ongoing issue between America and communist-led China.
