The lawmakers called the Chinese Communist Party the ‘world’s largest hostage-taker.’
Three congressional Republicans are calling on President Donald Trump to confront Chinese leader Xi Jinping at their upcoming meeting over the cases of Americans who have been wrongfully detained or barred from leaving China under exit bans.
In a letter dated Oct. 22 to Trump, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) called the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) the “world’s largest hostage-taker.”
“It uses detentions and exit bans to punish and censor Americans, gain leverage over U.S. businesses, and pressure changes in U.S. policy—disproportionately targeting Chinese-American and Uyghur-American communities,” the lawmakers wrote, noting that the CCP has engaged in these practices “with impunity.”
Sullivan and Smith are the chair and cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). Moolenaar is the chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP.
Trump is slated to meet Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in South Korea on Oct. 30, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Oct. 23. Trump last met Xi in person at the G20 summit in Japan in 2019.
The lawmakers cited two Americans—Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt—saying both have suffered mistreatment and now face life-threatening medical conditions that are being inadequately treated. Both have been held in Chinese custody since 2014 on drug-related charges.
Trump, the lawmakers said, should push for the pair’s immediate humanitarian transfer or release.”
At a CECC hearing in September 2024, Tim Hunt said his sister, Dawn Hunt, was tricked into believing she had won a cash prize, which led her to Hong Kong and China, where she was given a handbag containing illicit drugs.
Speaking at the same hearing, Nelson Wells Sr. said his son, Nelson Wells Jr., was arrested at an airport after Chinese authorities allegedly found drugs in a bag he believed to contain baked goods.
Citing independent reports, the lawmakers said tens of thousands are ensnared in China’s exit bans each year, with most cases kept out of public view.
By Frank Fang
