USA businesswoman held in China for ‘espionage’: Supporters

Chinese authorities say they are investigating an American businesswoman on suspicion of threating China’s national security, confirming earlier media reports that Phan Phan-Gillis of Houston has been detained.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei confirmed the investigation in a regular briefing on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, “China’s state secrets law is notoriously broad, covering everything from industry data to the exact birth dates of state leaders”.

An American woman suspected of spying is being investigated, China’s Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday, as President Xi Jinping left for the U.S. on an official go to.

His wife has been visited six times by American consular officers since her March 20 arrest, according to the State Department, which said it was closely monitoring the case.

“My wife is not a spy and she is not a thief”. According to a website created to spread awareness about her case, Sandy was in China to promote business between the country and the American city of Houston – where she lives.

Based on postings about Phan-Gillis’s March trip to China written online before she disappeared, she was a part of trade delegation led by acting Houston mayor Ed González and other business people.

Jeff Gillis hasn’t spoken to his wife Sandy Phan-Gillis since the March 23.

Ms Phan Gillis consulted for US and Chinese companies and was president of the Houston Shenzhen Sister City Organization. Gillis told the Houston Chronicle he, indeed, timed his announcement to coincide with Xi’s visit, in the hopes that it would be more widely publicized and have a better chance of prompting the Chinese government to act on her behalf. She has been hospitalised repeatedly whereas detained, it stated.

The arrest comes less than a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping comes to the United States for his first official visit, and could throw a diplomatic monkey-wrench into the entire affair. She later told businessman Vincent Chau to tell the group to move ahead to the United States, as she would stay behind to handle a “personal matter”.

There was no announcement of any sort from the Chinese authorities regarding her detention at the time.

The US Embassy in Beijing was unavailable, and Mrs Phan-Gillis’s husband did not respond to emails. “But I think it’s wrong”.

China announced that the wife was released on bail in February, though her husband had been placed under formal criminal detention. A lawyer engaged on her case couldn’t be instantly reached.

But he did not say what she’s been officially accused of.