Brother of American Detained in China Tells US: 'Don't Just Talk About It'
By Nick Mordowanec
The brother of an American woman said to be wrongfully held in a Chinese prison for over a decade has a message for the federal government: "Don't just talk about it, be about it." Dawn Michelle Hunt has been in Guangdong Women's Prison since her 2014 arrest for drug smuggling—a charge that she, her brother and father have consistently denied. In a similar case, Nelson Wells Jr. has spent over a decade in a Chinese cell for drug charges that he and his representatives say are dubious.
"The time for politicking about this stuff, it's over," Dawn Hunt's brother, Tim Hunt, formerly a 28-year Chicago Police veteran, told Newsweek. "Everybody talks about reaching across the aisle; everybody talks about what's best for America because everybody wants to talk about making America strong. That's cool. But...other countries that ain't as strong are jealous. If they keep taking your people and you don't have a playbook to get your people back, you aren't as strong as you think you are. All these people...talking about doing stuff: please, please, please do it. Don't just talk about it, be about it."
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Vector illustration of the Arrested man hand and hand cuffs Branchegevara/Getty
Dawn Hunt and Wells Jr. are just two of an estimated 200-plus U.S. citizens said to be wrongfully detained by China. Americans John Leung, Kai Li and Mark Swidan came home the day before Thanksgiving last year as part of a prisoner swap, spurred by a congressional committee. It mirrored the return in September of U.S. citizen David Lin after nearly 20 years.
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China's embassy in the U.S., told Newsweek he was unaware of the detainment of Dawn Hunt and Wells Jr. "I would like to share China's principled position on this matter: China is a country governed by the rule of law and consistently safeguards the safety and lawful rights and interests of foreigners in China in accordance with the law," he said, adding: "At the same time, all foreign nationals in or entering China must abide by Chinese laws, and those who violate the law will be held accountable."
Recent Foley Foundation findings show that while some Americans were freed from jails overseas in 2024, progress was minimal. Statistics suggest that more Americans were wrongfully detained between 2015 and 2024 than between 2005 and 2014. "The Foley Foundation is encouraged by the energy the new administration has brought to the issue of hostage recovery, and views the fast start as a hopeful sign that progress can be made on several longstanding cases, in addition to others where American captives are facing acute physical and mental health issues," Elizabeth Richards, Foley Foundation's director of hostage advocacy and research, told Newsweek.
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US Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty
John Kamm, chair of San Francisco-based nonprofit Dui Hua Foundation, told Newsweek in March that he filed a new appeal to press China for clemency for Dawn Hunt and Wells Jr. "Years ago, a senior Chinese official told me, 'When U.S.-China relations are bad, your work suffers. When U.S.-China relations are good, you benefit,'" he said. "My work is now in the suffer stage."
The U.S. Department of State told Newsweek it takes claims of mistreatment of U.S. citizens "seriously" and raises concerns with host governments over credible reports. "The Chinese government arbitrarily enforces local laws without fair and transparent process under the law.... The Department of State continuously monitors the circumstances surrounding the detentions of U.S. citizens overseas, including those in China, for indicators that the detentions may be wrongful," it said.
Dawn Hunt, 53, arrived in China after winning a contest, spending about two weeks there. She was then offered a trip to Australia. Contest organizers purportedly gave her a designer bag that, unbeknown to her, was lined with drugs and flagged by airport security, according to Tim Hunt. She was detained, arrested, later found guilty via trial and sentenced to death. She has since developed uterine fibroids and potentially ovarian cancer. Tim Hunt said she had blood transfusions due to heavy bleeding but refused a hysterectomy out of distrust for her caretakers and a medical exam due to fears about China's government collecting her DNA for nefarious reasons, he said.
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After failed efforts by the Obama, first Trump and Biden administrations, Tim Hunt has cautious optimism that the current one will make detained Americans a priority, citing the releases of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Marc Fogel from Russian detention. "I don't care who's in office, OK?" he said. "This isn't political for me; it's not political for the Wells family. This should not happen. We're American."
He said he's been in contact with the offices of his Illinois state Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth—who Newsweek contacted for comment—in the hope they will put forward a resolution in Congress urging the release of Americans from their adversary. Dawn Hunt told him on March 28, the last time they spoke, that she is thankful for all domestic efforts toward her release.
Moped Accident to Wrongful Detainment
Dad-of-three Wells Jr. was arrested in China in May 2014. According to family and representatives, the New Orleans native, 51, had a moped accident in Japan that resulted in a head injury. He traveled to China for medical aid and nearly exhausted his finances. Wells Jr. was arrested by Chinese authorities for drug charges that both he and his family vehemently deny. His term was reduced from life to 22 years in 2019.
Wells Jr.'s health has deteriorated since he was jailed. His father, Nelson Wells Sr., told Newsweek that hopes for his son's release fluctuate alongside presidential administrations.
Political posturing in the past year has amplified due to U.S. prisoner releases from Russia and China, combined with efforts from the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, or CECC. Yet aside from officials in Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy's office, the Wells say they have had silence from Senator John Kennedy and House Speaker Mike Johnson. A spokesperson for the speaker told Newsweek that Johnson hasn't spoken to the family since Trump took office "but the Speaker's staff has spoken with the Wells family multiple times this year."
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Former prisoners released by Russia, US journalist Evan Gershkovich (10thL), former US marine Paul Whelan (9thL), and US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva (8thL) pose behind a banner reading "Hostages and Wrongful Detainees, Bring Them Home" after... More SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP/Getty
In 2023, around the time Johnson became speaker, Wells Sr. told CBS affiliate KSLA: "Mike Johnson was the only one that called and explained everything, what he can and cannot do."
"Mike Johnson took concern and he said, 'I will do this, look into it and see any loopholes,'" Wells Sr. said.
The Wells family shared with Newsweek a letter that Nicholas Burns, then U.S. ambassador to China, sent them on January 13, before the Biden administration concluded. It says that he wrote to Chongqing Prison Administration Bureau's director general about reports of mistreatment and discrimination against Wells Jr.—who is Black and said to be the only minority in his all-Chinese jail—plus his living conditions.
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Burns said he raised the Wells' request for a video call with their son, adding: "We will continue to closely monitor Nelson's medical situation and are actively working with prison authorities to ensure that he receives necessary medical care."
Visits to Wells Jr. by embassy and consular officials every other month were promised by U.S. officials. Burns vowed "continued commitment to support Nelson's welfare and well-being" and to iterate the same to his successor, recently confirmed to be David Perdue. Wells Jr. was in higher spirits during his last conversation with his parents, on February 28. He said he required a colonoscopy, dental work and treatment for an abscess and had another visit with his psychiatrist. "[Meeting with consular officials] lifted his spirits, and I believe that's the reason why he was so cheerful.... he feels as though it is giving him hope. The bad side about that is if nothing materializes. That's what I'm afraid of," Wells Sr. said.
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What's Next?
CECC Chair Christopher Smith said President Donald Trump made imprisoned Americans a priority in his first term and is continuing efforts. "I sent a letter to the president [in February] asking him to prioritize their release and am working to introduce legislation...to hopefully raise the diplomatic stakes for China and ultimately bring home Americans unjustly detained there," he told Newsweek.
Joi Chaney, founder of consulting firm J.O.I. Strategies and adviser to the Wells family, said special hostage envoy Adam Boehler wants to raise more public awareness about Americans held overseas. Peter Humphrey, an ex-prisoner of China who advises imprisoned Americans' families, told Newsweek "now is the time" to contact everyone who can facilitate releases. "We need to get Cassidy and Johnson to reach out now to the hostage envoy's office, and we should be doing so ourselves," he said. "That's on our action list."
Richards said a "more adversarial" tone toward China, including tariffs, could hurt efforts, but said: "We admire the passion Boehler has brought to the position. We also have hope that under [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio's leadership, the State Department will be more forward leaning in the support provided to families, especially for families that do not have a wrongful detention designation yet."
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