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WASHINGTON —Three Americans detained in China for years have been released and will be returning to the United States, the White House announced Wednesday.
"We are pleased to announce the release of Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung from detention in the People's Republic of China," a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.
It's a diplomatic win for President Joe Biden who will be leaving office in January. With the men's release, "all of the wrongfully detained Americans" in China have been returned, the spokesperson added.
The three had been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained. Swidan had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while Li and Leung were imprisoned on espionage charges.
"Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years," the spokesperson said.
Biden and his aides have raised the issue of the three Americans with Beijing repeatedly, according to U.S. officials. In his last in-person meeting on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru earlier this month, Biden also spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping to press for their return.
During his term Biden has brought home over 70 Americans unjustly detained around the world. Rights groups say more than 40 others are still being held hostage or wrongfully detained in over a dozen countries.