Three Americans Freed from China in Prisoner Swap

Harrison Li holds a picture of his father, Kai Li

Just in time for American Thanksgiving, US President Joe Biden secured the release of three Americans prisons in China in a prisoner swap deal.

They are Texan businessman Mark Swidan who was arrested in 2012 and accused of drug related offenses; Kai Li, who had been held on espionage charges since 2016, and John Leung, who was born in Hong Kong, and last year was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges.

Swidan was held in China for over a decade

Sean Savett, a National Security Council spokesman says no other Americans are "wrongfully detained" in China, a designation where the US government sees a person as the equivalent of a political hostage, or that charges were fabricated.

In return, the US released Xu Yanjun, a Chinese intelligence officer who was serving a 20-year sentence after he was arrested in Brussels in 2018 and extradited to the US.

This deal was in the works for several months under secrecy, and earlier this month Biden discussed the prisoner swap with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the Apec summit in Peru.

Earlier this year Secretary of State Antony Blinken had repeatedly pressed his counterpart Wang Yi to release the Americans who were wrongfully detained. 

Leung was in jail on spying charges

This is a big win for Biden in the last few weeks in office; in total he has managed to secure the release of more than 70 Americans that the US consider were wrongfully detained overseas.

"Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years," said Savett.

It's going to be a very special Thanksgiving for them.