|
Sandy Phan-Gillis
was arrested in March 2015 while about to leave mainland China
for the Chinese-ruled, former Portuguese colony of Macau. A
court on Tuesday ordered her deportation after sentencing her to
three-and-a-half years in prison for espionage.
She left China on Friday from the southern city of Guangzhou and
arrived in Los Angeles on the same day, her husband said in a
statement.
The Chinese government has not released details of the charges
against Phan-Gillis. Her lawyer told Reuters on Tuesday he could
not reveal details of the case because it involved "state
secrets".
Her husband, Jeff Gillis, said China had accused Phan-Gillis of
visiting the country twice on spy missions in 1996 and working
with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to capture two
Chinese spies in the United States and turn them into double
agents.
The deportation comes at a time of warming China-U.S. relations
after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi
Jinping in Florida in early April.
In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Trump called Xi a
"good man" and praised him for his efforts to press North Korea
to give up its development of nuclear weapons and long-range
missiles.
Negotiations to secure the release Phan-Gillis intensified when
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Beijing in March,
according to the San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation.
"Sandy is overjoyed to be reunited with friends and family, and
sends out her thanks to the many people who worked tirelessly
for her release," Gillis said.
(Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Robert Birsel)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
