A Houston man who had been scheduled for execution in China is one of three U.S. citizens released by the Chinese Government, the White House announced on Wednesday. According to reports from Politico and The New York Times, the Americans were freed as part of an exchange involving citizens of the People's Republic imprisoned in the United States.
According to White House, Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung were "wrongfully detained" by Chinese authorities. Swidan, who was a former Houston resident, had been facing a death penalty on drug charges while the other two prisoners were imprisoned on espionage charges. The Houstonian was initially set to be executed back in 2023, but according to the U.S. Department of State, his execution was postponed to 2025.
