State Security Officers In China Reportedly Made A Formal Arrest For American Businesswoman Accused Of Spying
An American businesswoman detained in March on alleged spying has been reportedly arrested formally by the state security officers in China. 55-year-old Phan Phan-Gillis visited China six months ago as a member of a delegation from Houston.
Phan-Gillis was suspected to be "engaging in activities that endanger China's national security," as per China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.
"We hope that the outside world will respect China's handling of this case according to the law," says Hong.
On the other hand, Jeff Gillis says his wife "isn't a spy or a thief." He adds that Phan-Gillis "is a hard-working businesswoman who has spent years doing nonprofit-type work to build Houston-China relations."
"It is the most stupid politics in the world to arrest a US citizen the week that Xi Jinping is coming to the United States for a state visit on political charges of spying," says Jeff Gillis, as noted by The New York Times on Tuesday.
Phan-Gillis is a Vietnam-born of Chinese descent. She became a citizen of the United States in the 1980s, as forecasts by the Atlantic on the same day.
Jeff adds, "I really don't want to be disruptive. I don't want to ruin anybody's party," he said. "I just want to get my wife back."
Houston-based lawyer Simon Tang confirms on Tuesday that Phan-Gillis has been "formally arrested a few days ago" after being allegedly detained secretly in Nanning for months.
"Chinese authorities are very much of the mind that if you are ethnic Chinese, we own you," says Jeff.
Meanwhile, Press Secretary Josh Earnest says the White House called the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the same day to press officials on the case of Phan-Gillis "to insist that all of the rules are followed that govern her access to her attorneys."
"State Department officials have been working on the issue since her arrest," says Earnest. "What's disconcerting to the administration is that many of those questions have gone unanswered."
