US says worked on release of US pastor from China for some time, seeking others

By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States worked for some time to secure the freedom of American Pastor David Lin ahead of his release from China and is still seeking the release of other Americans held there, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday.

The State Department announced on Sunday that China had freed 68-year-old Lin, who had been in jail since 2006. Miller told a regular news briefing there remain a number of Americans still detained in China.

"We welcome David Lin's release from prison in the People's Republic of China," he said. "He has returned to the United States and reunited with his family for the first time in nearly 20 years."

"It's something that we've been working on for some time," he said, adding: "We'll continue to push for the release of other Americans."

Miller referred to two other detainees, Mark Swidan and Kai Li.

He declined, when asked, to rule out that Lin's release had been the result of a swap.

"I am not going to say anything else about this process, other than what I've already said, which is that we welcome his release. Sometimes in diplomacy, the less said, the better. This is one of those occasions."

China's embassy in Washington declined to comment when asked if Beijing had received anything from the U.S. in return for Lin's release, but it said China's authorities handle criminal suspects in accordance with the law and "treat them equally regardless of their nationality."

Miller said the issue and that of other U.S. detainees, had been raised when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Laos in July.

U.S. politicians had for years urged Beijing to free Lin, who was jailed for life on charges of contract fraud.

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged President Joe Biden in November to use a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that month to push for the release of Lin, Li and Swidan.

Washington says the three were wrongfully detained. China says such cases are handled according to law.

A U.S. congressional commission is due to hold a hearing on Wednesday on the case of American citizens imprisoned in China. It said all faced health issues.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Costas Pitas, Simon Lewis, David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina; Editing by Mark Porter and Sandra Maler)