Much has changed for the families of Americans Dawn Michelle Hunt and Nelson Wells, Jr., over the past decade and change. Fathers have died, kids have grown up without their parents, and politicians have made countless promises. Yet, they endure.
The families of both Americans, each detained for more than 10 years in China on charges claimed to be manufactured by the opposition government, are remaining optimistic that the Donald Trump-Xi Jinping summit this week will be the straw to eventually break the camel’s back when it comes to bringing them home.
The meeting between the presidential counterparts in Beijing represents the first time a U.S. president has traveled to China since Trump did in 2017. They last convened in October 2025 in Busan, South Korea, though much has changed since.
This latest summit could have far-reaching global implications that may affect the course of the war in Iran and shipping blockade in the Middle East, China’s aggression towards Taiwan, and economics involving the CCP’s response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs plus China’s rise as a technology hub.
When Wells spoke via phone to his parents in April for his mother, Cynthia’s, birthday, he was said to “be in a cheerful mood.” It was a change of pace for the lone Black American locked up with only Chinese inmates for years, his mental and physical health wearing down.
“He said that he thinks this is it,” Nelson Wells, Sr., a U.S. Army veteran, told Military.com. “He started packing his bags and he was counting on the fact that they were supposed to have the summit because we had been informing him and letting him know that this was taking place and that we were on the 1-yard line.
“We felt that, with enough information that we had sent forward, that President Trump and his advisors would speak on Nelson and Dawn’s behalf and whisper in his ear so that he could speak to the president of China. We felt that if he did so, that Nelson would be home.”
But that patient optimism seemed to derail when the summit kept getting postponed, largely due to the military operation in and around Iran. Wells said “it knocked the wind out” of his son’s sails.
“He got very disappointed, got back down, and depressed again,” he said. “And as it stands right now, he’s on pins and needles waiting. His health has not changed, it’s continuing to deteriorate.
“He’s still using different medicines, adjusting, trying to get his pressure right. His diabetes is off the chart. … He goes through these things where he feels like we’re there, but we’re not.”
Tim Hunt, the older brother of Dawn Michelle, is a former Chicago police officer who has sought a silver lining wherever he can find one, but that recently became even more of an uphill battle.
His father, who was 92 and a fierce advocate for “his girl,” died in January. Dawn changed his father’s life, said Tim, who is six years older than his sister.
“He did the best he could, she still got found guilty,” Tim told Military.com. “But as you know, it’s 99% over there in China, so the odds were stacked against him. He started to get a little older and he’s like, ‘Hey, Tim, can you take it over for me?’ I could tell that he was slowing down.”
The families of Hunt and Wells told Military.com that they’ve held out hope across multiple presidential administrations, both Republican and Democrat, especially following more recent high-profile negotiations that led to Americans’ releases from countries like Russia and, yes, China.
One day before Thanksgiving 2024, Americans John Leung, Kai Li and Mark Swidan returned home as part of a prisoner swap with three Chinese individuals. That exchange mirrored a similar swap in September 2024, when U.S. citizen David Lin was freed and back in the U.S. after a 20-year jail stint.
Who is Dawn Michelle Hunt?
Dawn Michelle Hunt, 53, is currently incarcerated in Guangdong Women’s Prison after her 2014 arrest for smuggling—a charge “she vehemently denies,” Tim has maintained.
It is believed that Dawn, who had won a contest and a free trip to Hong Kong more than a decade ago, was set up. After a couple weeks of travel and no issues, she was set to travel to Australia when she was allegedly given a purse by contest organizers that was lined with drugs and flagged by airport security.
She was immediately detained, arrested, later found guilty via trial and sentenced to death. Ever since, like Wells, her mental and physical health has consistently worsened.
That’s included physical ailments like uterine fibroids and fears of ovarian cancer. Tim said she’s received multiple blood transfusions due to heavy bleeding, previously refusing a recommended hysterectomy out of distrust for her caretakers.
Tim has had false hope before, but following the death of his father, he has no intention to slow down. It’s the justice he feels his sister deserves.
“It ain’t a done deal ‘til it’s a done deal. … My sister’s getting older, she’s getting sicker. Nelson’s older, he’s sicker. I’ve already lost one family member; I don’t want to lose another one.”
Who is Nelson Wells, Jr.?
Nelson Wells Jr., 52, originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, was arrested by Chinese authorities on purported drug charges in May 2014 and subsequently sentenced to life. In 2019, his term was reduced to 22 years but he will not be freed until 2041.
Wells Jr., who at the time of his arrest was living with his now ex-wife and two children, is believed to have visited China after suffering a serious moped injury abroad. After sustaining a head injury that led to seizures, he thought he could find medical help.
That’s when things went downhill and full details remain unclear. Like Dawn, Wells is claimed to have attempted to smuggle drugs out of China.
Nelson Wells, who served in the Army from 1974 to 1994, and Cynthia, who recruited for the Army and worked for the Department of Defense (DOD) for 28 years, have called the charges that landed their son behind bars erroneous.
Multiple Advocates Want Justice
The Hunt and Wells families have had advocates at different levels, and on different continents.
One is Peter Humphrey, a British ex-journalist who along with his American wife was detained and imprisoned in China from 2013. They were both released in early 2015.
“I just want to try and paint a picture of Nelson Jr. and his health and state of mind inside his cell,” Humphrey told Military.com. “Let’s remember, he’s the only Black man in his prison. He’s the only English-speaking guy in his cell. And he’s chairing the cell with a handful of Chinese people.
“He’s really, really alone and highly isolated, and he has been absolutely in suspense for a year because last year, the State Department, under our lobbying, actually finally submitted a humanitarian release request to the Chinese authorities. And he knows that.”
But with every one step forward, it’s akin to two steps back. Whether Nelson’s parents advocate House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents their district in Louisiana, or others, dead ends have become routine.
Humphrey said that Wells Jr. has “been in a total state of suspense, alternating with disappointments” as negotiations simmered and the Trump-Xi summit kept being delayed.
Humphrey, like Nelson’s parents, communicates with Wells Jr. through written correspondence.
Others like John Kamm, chair of the San Francisco-based nonprofit Dui Hua Foundation, seek clemency and better treatment for at-risk detainees, American or otherwise.
“I am in frequent contact with both families,” Kamm told Military.com. “I have been pressing both governments to focus on their releases. I am in relatively more contact with the family of Dawn Michelle, that’s because I have a channel into the Guangdong Women’s Prison where she is being held.”
Hostage Landscape Shows Chinese Pressure
Earlier this month, the Foley Foundation—which works to free Americans unjustly held captive abroad—held an exhibit in the Russell Senate Building Rotunda as part of their Bring Our Families Home Campaign, allowing families to galvanize and advocate for their loved ones abroad.
Also earlier this year, Foley released its 2025 Hostage & Wrongful Detainee Landscape report as it’s done since 2019. The report, in part, found that five countries—Venezuela, China, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan—account for 69% of the hostage taking/wrongful detentions observed last year.
“China is a difficult problem,” Elizabeth Richards, director of hostage advocacy and research of the Foley Foundation, told Military.com. “We are hopeful that President Trump and President Xi will find some common ground to resolve cases of Americans wrongfully detained in China when they meet. President Trump has been clear that his top priority is bringing Americans home.”
Richards added that resolving the American detention cases is “one of the clearest ways the People’s Republic of China could demonstrate its commitment to a productive dialogue between our two countries.”
Medical Conditions of Hunt, Wells are Reasons for Release
James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based partner with the law firm of Loeb & Loeb LLP who is supporting the families in their lobby efforts, provided the legal barriers faced by both Hunt and Wells.
He told Military.com that the requests being made for their humanitarian release is solely based upon the dismal medical condition of the two, described as “a narrow request and purely up to the Chinese government to grant.”
“The request is not an appeal of the underlying case,” Zimmerman said. “The request does not challenge the work of the police or the evidence submitted at trial. The request does not question the Chinese judicial process or whether Dawn and Nelson were adequately represented by legal counsel.
“The diplomatic request does not question the treatment of Dawn and Nelson in their respective prison institutions. They are not ‘unlawfully detained,’ political prisoners, or prisoners of war. This will not be a prisoner exchange or swap. They are not ‘hostages’ and their current status is that of sentenced persons.”
He has lobbied both the PRC and U.S. governments on why they should be released, which includes the aforementioned health reasons coupled with how their families are aging as well.
“My role is not to question the fairness of the judicial process or the sentences that were imposed by the Chinese courts,” Zimmerman said. “One of my talking points to the Chinese side is that, if Dawn or Nelson were to pass away in Chinese prison, the optics would not be good.
“Secondly, both have served over half their terms and both could, at some point, qualify for parole in China, although it’s challenging for foreigners to be granted parole since parole is limited to prisoners with an existing family and community support structure within China, and foreigners that are transient in China don’t have that.”
He added that the summit provides “a good opportunity for both sides to demonstrate goodwill and benevolence.” Chinese authorities, according to what Zimmerman has been privy to in behind-the-scenes conversations, are willing to grant their releases—but with a caveat: They want to hear it come directly from Trump or Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
‘Start Naming Names’
At the federal level, efforts are continued to be made by ambassadors and lawmakers.
On May 12, House Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, called once more for the release of Americans imprisoned in China. He said in a statement shared with Military.com that “no government has the right to imprison a person for their beliefs, their faith, or their voice.”
“These individuals are not criminals,” he added. “ They are courageous voices for truth, for justice, and for human dignity. Their persecution is a reminder that the Chinese Communist Party fears what it cannot control—free thought, independent faith, and the enduring power of truth.”
David Perdue, U.S. ambassador to China, wrote a letter to Nelson and Cynthia on April 28, 2026, saying that he was “deeply troubled” when first notified of Nelson’s health issues in Chongqing.
Perdue added that Nelson’s welfare has remained top of mind and communicated as such to high-level Chinese officials in diplomatic discussions. That’s included the sending of a senior consular official to visit Wells, Jr. and engage with local officials to facilitate a release.
“We will continue to strongly press the Chinese government for appropriate and comprehensive medical treatment, and Nelson’s release on humanitarian grounds,” Perdue said. “I share your goals to ensure Nelson receives the care he needs and to return him home to you.”
After years of trying to bring their family members home, patience is wearing thin.
“I would like President Trump to just look President Xi in the eye and say, ‘Hey, look, there’s Americans here that need to come home. And then just start naming names,” Tim Hunt said.
Nelson Wells, Sr. said that efforts continue because “it’s too late to turn back now,” and the only way is forward. Having individuals like Humphrey and Zimmerman have made what can be a desolate journey more palatable.
Now, with a strong team of advocates and a busy three years of reaching the highest levels of U.S. government, it’s time for action.
“We’re there,” Wells said. “We just need a sympathetic ear from the higher ranks, and I’m more than sure that what we’ve done is not in vain. We’ve come a long way in a short time.”
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