An American pastor jailed in China for more than 18 years was released this week, the State Department said Monday.
David Lin, 68, was arrested in China in 2006 and sentenced to life in prison. He was convicted of contract fraud, but a humanitarian group said he was targeted because of his goal of preaching the gospel in China.
Lin’s release comes ahead of an expected phone call between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping and as the two leaders make efforts to stabilize the U.S. and China relationship following a summit in Woodside, Calif., in November.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday that Lin’s release was “something we have been working on for some time.” He did not, however, preview if any other Americans detained in China are expected to be released, nor was he able to provide a number of how many Americans are viewed as unjustly detained.
“We continue to push for the release of other wrongfully detained Americans,” he said.
Dui Hua, a California-based nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that advocated for Lin’s release, said the conviction of “contract fraud” is frequently used in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) against house church leaders who raise funds to support their work.
The group said Lin had his sentence reduced to 19.5 years in 2012, and subsequently had his sentence reduced three more times.
Dui Hua said that Lin was on the priority list of three Americans considered wrongfully detained by the State Department, including Mark Swidan and Kai Li.
Miller on Monday said the U.S. is also pushing for the release of Swidan and Li. Swidan was detained in China in 2012 and later convicted by a Chinese court of manufacturing and trafficking drugs and sentenced to death. Li was detained in Shanghai in 2016, charged with espionage and stealing state secrets, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), the chair of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said in a statement the PRC detains more Americans than any other country.
“The willingness of the PRC to engage in hostage diplomacy is unacceptable. The release of wrongfully detained Americans should be agenda item number one every time the President or any US official meets with Xi Jinping or senior PRC diplomats,” Smith said in a statement.
“Those languishing needlessly in Chinese prisons need our tenacious advocacy. They should not be forgotten.”
The committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday about efforts to bring home Americans wrongfully detained in China. Among those testifying is Li’s son, Harrison Li.
Others testifying include Nelson Wells, whose son Nelson Wells Jr. has spent a decade in prison on drug charges. The family has criticized the legal process and asked for their son to be released on humanitarian grounds over his failing health.
The committee will also hear from Tim Hunt, the brother of Dawn Michelle Hunt, who is serving life in prison for trafficking drugs. Her family says she was duped into the trafficking scheme.
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