Families of Two Americans Held in China for Over a Decade Hope for Progress at Trump-Xi Meeting

The families of Dawn Michelle Hunt and Nelson Wells Jr. Hunt, 53, has been held in Guangdong Women's Prison since her 2014 arrest on smuggling charges that she denies. , 52, was arrested in May 2014 on drug charges, originally sentenced to life in prison before his term was reduced to 22 years.

He is not scheduled for release until 2041. Much has changed for the families during the detainees' long imprisonments. Fathers have died, children have grown up without their parents, and multiple U.S. administrations have made promises. The families have maintained hope across both Republican and Democratic presidencies.

2024, Americans John Leung, Kai Li and Mark Swidan returned to the United States as part of a prisoner swap with three Chinese individuals. That exchange followed a similar swap the previous month in which U.S. citizen David Lin was freed after a 20-year detention in China.

com they have drawn encouragement from those cases while continuing to press for Hunt and Wells. , a U.S. Army veteran, said his son was in a cheerful mood during an April phone call for his mother Cynthia's birthday but grew disappointed as the summit was repeatedly postponed.

"He said that he thinks this is it," Nelson Wells Sr. com. " The postponements, largely tied to military operations involving Iran, affected his son's outlook. "He got very disappointed, got back down, and depressed again," Wells Sr. said. 's health has continued to deteriorate, with uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure requiring ongoing medication adjustments.

Hunt's older brother Tim Hunt, a former Chicago police officer, said their father died in January at age 92 after advocating for his daughter's release. Tim Hunt has since taken over that role. Hunt has suffered from uterine fibroids, heavy bleeding requiring multiple blood transfusions, and fears of ovarian cancer.

She previously declined a recommended hysterectomy due to distrust of prison medical staff. com. "My sister's getting older, she's getting sicker. Nelson's older, he's sicker. " Peter Humphrey, a former British journalist who was detained in China with his American wife from 2013 until their release in 2015, has advocated for the pair.

He described Wells Jr. as highly isolated, being the only Black man and the only English speaker in his prison cell. Humphrey noted that the State Department submitted a humanitarian release request for Wells last year. John Kamm, chair of the San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation, said he remains in frequent contact with both families and has pressed both governments to prioritize their releases.

He maintains a direct channel to the Guangdong Women's Prison where Hunt is held. The Foley Foundation held an exhibit earlier this month in the Russell Senate Building Rotunda as part of its efforts to free Americans unjustly detained abroad. The Trump-Xi summit in Beijing is the first such presidential visit to China since 2017.

The two leaders last met in October 2025 in Busan, South Korea.