Swordsmyth
11-26-2018, 09:03 PM
The American wife of a Chinese fugitive has been kidnapped and taken to a secret site commonly known as a "black jail" in order to lure her husband back to China to face criminal charges in a $1.4 billion fraud case, according to WRAL (https://www.wral.com/china-s-tactic-to-catch-a-fugitive-official-hold-his-two-american-children/18019586/).
Liu Changming, 53, the father, is among China’s most-wanted fugitives, accused of helping to carry out one of the country’s biggest bank frauds, in which $1.4 billion in illegal loans was issued to property developers. He fled the country in 2007.
Sandra Han was detained during a trip to a tropical Chinese island after she and her two children - Victor and Cynthia Liu, traveled on US passports to visit an ailing grandfather. Like their mother, Victor and Cynthia are US citizens. Unlike their mother, however, they were simply placed on travel restriction and not able to leave the country despite saying they are not under investigation or being charged with a crime.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/black%20jail.jpg
By holding the family hostage, they said, police are trying to force the siblings’ father to return to China to face criminal charges. The father, Liu Changming, a former executive at a state-owned bank, is accused of being a central player in a $1.4 billion fraud case.
The children say their father severed ties with the family in 2012, but Chinese authorities have still held them for months under a practice known as an exit ban — a growing tactic that has become the latest flash point in the increasingly rancorous relationship between the United States and China. -WRAL (https://www.wral.com/china-s-tactic-to-catch-a-fugitive-official-hold-his-two-american-children/18019586/)
Senior US diplomats have denounced the so-called "exit bans" as a violation of rights, while the State Department issued a travel warning in January - saying that the practice posed risks to foreigners traveling to China. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly mentioned the Liu family to a top Chinese foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, at a Washington meeting according to WRAL.
The siblings have pleaded their case to U.S. officials, including John Bolton, the national security adviser. “The investigative officers have made abundantly clear that neither my brother nor I am under any form of investigation,” Cynthia Liu, 27, wrote to Bolton in an August letter obtained by The New York Times. “We are being held here as a crude form of human collateral to induce someone with whom I have no contact to return to China for reasons with which I am entirely unfamiliar.” -WRAL (https://www.wral.com/china-s-tactic-to-catch-a-fugitive-official-hold-his-two-american-children/18019586/)
State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said on Friday that the United States would continue to express concern over exit bans "until we see a transparent and fair process," though nothing about Sandra Han being held at a black site.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, has defended their actions - saying "The people you mentioned all own legal and valid identity documents as Chinese citizens. Because they are suspected of economic crimes, they are restricted from exiting the country by the Chinese police in accordance with the law."
The law in China states that citizenship is automatically lost when someone gains citizenship abroad - while someone like Victor Liu, who was born with US citizenship is not a Chinese citizen, regardless of his parents' citizenship status. All three family members entered China on US passports, while the State Department is providing them with citizen services. Guangzhou police have reportedly taken Han, 51, to meet with a US consular officer.
Massachusetts Democrats Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Rep Joseph Kennedy III have all urged the US governmnt to act, as the mother is from their state. "Our office is aware of Victor’s, Cynthia’s and Sandra’s situations and is deeply concerned," Markey’s office said in a statement. "We are working to secure their safe return and continue to be in touch with U.S. officials to ensure a positive outcome."
More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-26/china-kidnaps-fugitives-american-wife-holds-hostage-secret-black-jail
Liu Changming, 53, the father, is among China’s most-wanted fugitives, accused of helping to carry out one of the country’s biggest bank frauds, in which $1.4 billion in illegal loans was issued to property developers. He fled the country in 2007.
Sandra Han was detained during a trip to a tropical Chinese island after she and her two children - Victor and Cynthia Liu, traveled on US passports to visit an ailing grandfather. Like their mother, Victor and Cynthia are US citizens. Unlike their mother, however, they were simply placed on travel restriction and not able to leave the country despite saying they are not under investigation or being charged with a crime.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/black%20jail.jpg
By holding the family hostage, they said, police are trying to force the siblings’ father to return to China to face criminal charges. The father, Liu Changming, a former executive at a state-owned bank, is accused of being a central player in a $1.4 billion fraud case.
The children say their father severed ties with the family in 2012, but Chinese authorities have still held them for months under a practice known as an exit ban — a growing tactic that has become the latest flash point in the increasingly rancorous relationship between the United States and China. -WRAL (https://www.wral.com/china-s-tactic-to-catch-a-fugitive-official-hold-his-two-american-children/18019586/)
Senior US diplomats have denounced the so-called "exit bans" as a violation of rights, while the State Department issued a travel warning in January - saying that the practice posed risks to foreigners traveling to China. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly mentioned the Liu family to a top Chinese foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, at a Washington meeting according to WRAL.
The siblings have pleaded their case to U.S. officials, including John Bolton, the national security adviser. “The investigative officers have made abundantly clear that neither my brother nor I am under any form of investigation,” Cynthia Liu, 27, wrote to Bolton in an August letter obtained by The New York Times. “We are being held here as a crude form of human collateral to induce someone with whom I have no contact to return to China for reasons with which I am entirely unfamiliar.” -WRAL (https://www.wral.com/china-s-tactic-to-catch-a-fugitive-official-hold-his-two-american-children/18019586/)
State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said on Friday that the United States would continue to express concern over exit bans "until we see a transparent and fair process," though nothing about Sandra Han being held at a black site.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, has defended their actions - saying "The people you mentioned all own legal and valid identity documents as Chinese citizens. Because they are suspected of economic crimes, they are restricted from exiting the country by the Chinese police in accordance with the law."
The law in China states that citizenship is automatically lost when someone gains citizenship abroad - while someone like Victor Liu, who was born with US citizenship is not a Chinese citizen, regardless of his parents' citizenship status. All three family members entered China on US passports, while the State Department is providing them with citizen services. Guangzhou police have reportedly taken Han, 51, to meet with a US consular officer.
Massachusetts Democrats Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Rep Joseph Kennedy III have all urged the US governmnt to act, as the mother is from their state. "Our office is aware of Victor’s, Cynthia’s and Sandra’s situations and is deeply concerned," Markey’s office said in a statement. "We are working to secure their safe return and continue to be in touch with U.S. officials to ensure a positive outcome."
More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-26/china-kidnaps-fugitives-american-wife-holds-hostage-secret-black-jail