Sandy Phan-Gillis, an American citizen, was deported back to the United States, as confirmed by the U.S. State Department on Sunday, April 30. She has been under Chinese custody for over two years and was convicted of espionage.
“We are aware that Chinese authorities deported Ms. Phan-Gillis back to the United States,” an official from the State Department said, according to Channel News Asia. “The United States welcomes her home.”
Phan-Gillis was part of a trade delegation from Houston, Texas. They were on their way from mainland China, at the Macau border, when she was seized by Chinese authorities upon accusations of espionage.
For six months, Phan-Gillis, who was born in Vietnam and has Chinese heritage, was held by Chinese authorities at an undisclosed location. She was later moved to a detention center in Guangxi Province under solitary confinement.
To help her wife regain her freedom, Jeff Gillis set up a website called “savesandy.org,” which ran until Phan-Gillis returned to the United States.
On Wednesday, April 26, Phan-Gillis was sentenced by Chinese courts to almost four years in prison and deportation. On Friday, April 28, Phan-Gillis left China and arrived in Los Angeles on the same day, according to human rights group Dui Hua.
“She was met upon arrival by her husband and members of her family,” the group, which is based in San Francisco, added in a statement.
According to Dui Hua, efforts to negotiate for Phan-Gillis’ release was increased when U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson flew to China in March 2017.
It is also believed that the meeting between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump three weeks ago had much to do with the deportation. Geng Shuang, a spokesperson from the Chinese foreign ministry, told the press on Friday, April 28, that the two leaders “have been in constant touch with each other.”