US panel calls for Biden to prioritise release of Americans wrongfully held in China

US lawmakers have called on the White House to prioritise the release of Americans wrongfully held in China, some of whom, they said, had been detained for nearly a decade without a fair trial.

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), which advises Congress and the US president on human rights and rule of law in China, held a hearing on Wednesday to examine the case of US citizens jailed in Chinese prisons and to explore ways to secure their release.

In his opening remarks, Representative Christopher Smith, the New Jersey Republican who chairs the commission, called the situation urgent.

“If the Chinese government wants to improve relations with the United States, they should release Americans who are wrongfully imprisoned without condition,” Smith said.

“They should unilaterally end the use of ‘exit bans,’ a form of de facto hostage-taking that violates the Chinese government’s obligations under Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”