A Chinese-born American businessman was sentenced last week to five years in prison in China, on charges related to a criminal case nearly 25 years ago, despite having frequently made routine trips in and out of the country after the fact.
The businessman’s family, as well as a longtime human rights activist, say the case is an example of the arbitrary nature of law enforcement in China. They have urged the Chinese government to release the businessman, David Lee, on humanitarian parole, noting that he had been hospitalized for 10 days and that they believed he had suffered a stroke.
Mr. Lee’s sentencing on April 23 came as tensions between the United States and China were at their highest point in years, inflamed by President Trump’s tariffs. There were no signs that the case was related to the tensions, but it could add another source of friction to the relationship.
Mr. Lee was found guilty of intentional injury and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vague charge that China often uses against people it perceives as a threat to social stability. In the written verdict, the judge said that Mr. Lee, 61, had been involved in three altercations in 2000 and 2001, one of which led to a man’s death.
But the family of Mr. Lee, who held a green card at the time and became an American citizen in 2002, said his role in those incidents was minor. He was briefly detained then released without charges, and he assumed the case was closed, his wife, Louise Lin, said. Over the next two decades, he traveled to China nearly every month for his work as a wholesale lighting supplier for Home Depot.
Mr. Lee sometimes spent months at a time in China with no issue, Ms. Lin said. “If you know you’re in trouble, of course you’re not going to go back,” said Ms. Lin, who lives in California.
