The House of Representatives is formally condemning China’s communist regime for its continued imprisonment of a U.S. citizen on false charges.
The House moved to pass a bipartisan resolution on April 25 demanding that the Chinese Communist Party release businessman Mark Swidan, 48, who has been held in detention for more than a decade and is now on death row.
“Mr. Swidan is an American, a Texan, and a hostage of the Chinese Communist Party,” Said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on the House floor.
“We stand together to demand his release and an end to his torture by CCP officials.”
Swidan was arrested by Chinese police in 2012 and accused of making methamphetamine for a Mexican drug cartel.
CCP authorities never presented evidence to support this claim, however, and 11 others charged for the same crime could not identify Swidan. Moreover, information from Swidan’s passport demonstrated that he was not in China at the time the alleged crime took place.
Swidan has been in CCP custody since 2012 and was found guilty and sentenced to death in 2019. Swidan appealed the ruling but his appeal was overturned earlier this month, with the regime granting a two-year suspension on his execution.
McCaul said that CCP authorities had broken Swidan’s hands multiple times, and that he now has missing teeth and bleeding gums, and has lost nearly 100 pounds.
Moreover, Swidan has been forced to sleep on hard floors under constant artificial light for the entirety of his detention.
McCaul called Swidan’s continued imprisonment “a disgusting example of the CCP’s hostage diplomacy,” saying that the regime would only continue such aggressive behavior so long as the Biden administration failed to assert itself against the regime.
The Biden administration, he said, had instead chosen to prioritize engagement with the communist regime over pursuing American interests and, indeed, lives.
“If we are seen as a weak nation, we’ll be treated as such,” McCaul said.
“Appeasement only invites aggression.”
To that end, the resolution passed Tuesday also condemns the CCP and calls on the administration to hold the regime accountable for its crimes.
Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), who also spoke in support of the resolution, said that Swidan had been “wrongly detained” and tortured with “sleep deprivation” and “psychological abuse.”
Like McCaul, Manning called on the Biden administration to act to compel the CCP regime to release Swidan once and for all.
“No concrete evidence has been provided to justify the charges against Mr. Swidan,” Manning said.
“When the life and dignity of any American is challenged or undermined, it is our duty as lawmakers to speak out and take action.”
