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Two American brothers who have been banned from leaving China for the past three years have been allowed to go home.
Cynthia and Victor Liu, along with their mother, were accused of “economic crimes” during their visit to China.
They said Chinese authorities restricted their fathers from seducing them to face fraudulent charges.
The latest move is in line with a release that attracted the attention of Chinese tech executive Meng Wanzhou and two Canadians over the weekend.
Critics have accused China in the past for using the general public as a trump card for political negotiations known as “hostage diplomacy.” China has always denied this.
US Senator on Monday Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren said in a statement Cynthia and Victor Liu returned home “after being held in China for three years as a pawn of the Chinese government.”
They added that their brother’s mother, Sandra Han, was also a US citizen and was “detained in China.” Senator said she was working with the US government to secure her release.
In 2018, the three traveled to China to visit their relatives. Liu was a 27-year-old consultant, and Liu was a 19-year-old college student at the time.
A few days later, according to the children, their mother was detained by Chinese authorities and taken to a secret detention center, the “Black Prison.” They also realized that they couldn’t leave China.
At the time China’s Foreign Ministry justified the restrictions The three had documents showing that they were Chinese citizens and said they were “suspected of committing an economic crime.”
However, the brothers used them to lure their father, a former state-owned bank executive, into China, despite reports in the New York Times that Chinese authorities cut off their family ties in 2012. Said he was accused of criminal fraud. ..
According to a previous report by the state news agency China Daily, their father, Changming Liu, is one of the country’s 100 most sought-after fugitives facing arrests on suspicion of corruption. He fled China in 2007.
According to The New York Times, her mother, Han, is a businessman who owns millions of dollars in real estate.
“No link”
China has allowed Liu to leave on the same weekend as authorities, according to U.S. reports Let go of Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were arrested in China in 2018 and accused of espionage.
The release of Canadians took place hours after Chinese tech executives Meng Wanzhou, Those detained in Canada for US fraud have been released.
The apparent exchange ended a damaging diplomatic line between Beijing and the West.
When asked by reporters on Monday whether China would be motivated to continue such tactics, White House spokesman Jen Psaki said, “I think it’s important to be careful. It’s very important to be careful. For the sake of clarity, it is not relevant. “
She said the US Department of Justice made an “independent decision” to end the contract with a Canadian prosecutor, which led to the release of Meng Wanzhou.
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