Seattle woman says mother, a U.S. citizen, being tortured by Chinese Government

A Seattle woman says her mother, Sandy Phan-Gillis, has just recently been given a lawyer after being detained in China on a business trip in March of 2015. Catherine Chan says her family just received a letter from her mother saying she's been subjected to solitary confinement and mental torture by officials from China State Security.

KIRO 7 first told you of the situation when Chan and her family came public with it in September of 2015.  The day after the KIRO 7 story aired, Chan says her mom, a U.S. and Chinese citizen, was allowed to make a phone call.

"But the call was to my step dad to stop the media campaign," said Chan.  "They were threatening to take away her privileges, like her seeing a doctor, getting medication."

Chan says the Chinese haven't followed through with her family, so they're launching another media campaign.

"It's been almost a year, now, and they're not willing to speak to us to even negotiate anything," said Chan.

Now, the family is asking anyone who hears their story to contact the Chinese government.  On SaveSandy.org, they've listed Chinese Consulate contact information and shared the recent letter from Phan-Gillis.

She told KIRO 7 that the State Department has told them that when a U.S. official meets with a Chinese official, they ask about Phan-Gillis and are told she's healthy.  Now, she's hoping President Obama will push for her release while in China for the G-20 Summit in the next week.

"We don't want her to get lost in the system," said Chan.  "Especially when she's an American citizen getting treated that way only because she's Chinese."

The State Department gave KIRO 7 a statement Tuesday afternoon saying they have repeatedly pressed the Chinese government to follow the UN recommendation to release Ms. Pham-Gillis.

Cox Media Group