China releases 3 Americans it imprisoned for years, and Beijing says US returned 4 people to China

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China have been released. That word came Wednesday from the White House and it’s a rare diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration. The three are Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung. Each 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. A plane carrying the three men from China landed late Wednesday night at a military base in San Antonio, Texas. China also announced Thursday that the U.S. had returned four people to China, including three citizens it said had been held for “political purposes.”