US Student Freed After Being Held in China For Over A Week
Guthrie McLean, an American University student who was arrested in China for allegedly injuring a taxi driver, was released Monday (Sunday in U.S.).
“We are very, very very, very happy,” Jennifer McLean, Guthrie's mother wrote in an email to The Associated Press (AP). She said her son was delivered to her doorstep at around 2 a.m. local time (2 p.m. EDT) which came as a surprise for her, AP reported.
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After the release, Guthrie in an interview with missoulian.com said her son was sleep deprived and overwhelmed. "I’m happy, frustrated, and overwhelmed," Guthrie McLean said. "I was kind of scared and didn't really know what was going to happen."
Jennifer further said the entire process had not been completed but she was expecting things to go smooth. According to Montana Sen. Steve Daines, the release followed an agreement with the Chinese authorities that any charges against Guthrie would be dropped. Details on the agreement were, however, not disclosed.
The 25-year-old Guthrie McLean is a U.S. citizen by birth, however, he was brought up in China. He spent his early years in Missoula, Montana, and was enrolled in the University of Montana. According to the school authorities, Guthrie has been majoring in East Asian studies at the university for about two years. He works in the department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literature, reports said.
In May, he had traveled back to Zhengzhou, southwest of Beijing, to visit his mother. During his stay in China, he indulged into a brawl with a cab driver. Guthrie's mother narrated the entire incident. She said she was traveling in a cab June 10 when the driver asked for the cab fare and got into an argument with her. According to reports, Jennifer said the trouble began after the taxi driver refused to give her change. She also said the driver was “pushing and shoving her, and grabbing her bags."
She then called Gutherie, who pulled the taxi driver and threw him onto the ground. While the mother-son duo thought the matter was over, five weeks later, Zhengzhou police came looking for Gutherie.
Police said the cab driver had alleged he sustained serious injuries and Gutherie was asked to pay around $14,800 dollar as a settlement. Since he was unable to pay, he was taken into custody. Later, the amount was reduced to $7,300. However, he could not pay the amount.
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Gutherie's family and friends said they were shocked by the news of his arrest as he was a peace-loving person, reports said.
The case was taken up by U.S. lawmakers. Sen. Steve Daines, Sen. Jonathan "Jon" Tester and Rep. Greg Gianforte were constantly in talks with China’s Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The lawmakers justified Gutherie’s act of defending his deaf mother.
“After two 20-hour days in back and forth negotiations with Chinese officials, we were able to come to an agreement that worked for everybody, most importantly for Guthrie and for Jennifer,” Daines said.
Daines also said he had a word with Guthrie after his release, who said he planned to resume his studies from next month and would return to Missoula.
Guthrie's friends had also setup a crowd funding page to collect $7,500 that he had to pay to the cab driver. The initiative had received more than $600 as a donation.
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