Five years ago today, Xiyue Wang was unjustly detained in Iran while conducting research there for his Ph.D. dissertation. We and others at Covington were honored to participate in the global advocacy campaign that culminated in Mr. Wang’s release in December 2019. Here, for the first time publicly, we discuss our work on his case.

In the summer of 2016, Mr. Wang visited Iran to study Farsi and conduct archival research for his history Ph.D. dissertation at Princeton University. On August 7, 2016, Iranian authorities arrested and imprisoned Mr. Wang in the notorious Evin Prison. Although his work was scholarly in nature, and the documents to which he sought access were over a hundred years old and not confidential or classified, Mr. Wang was sentenced in the summer of 2017 to ten years in prison based on spurious allegations of espionage. Indeed, Mr. Wang later recounted how his captors told him bluntly that as an American, he provided leverage in efforts to secure a “deal” with the United States.

Covington provided a range of support on a pro bono basis to Mr. Wang and his wife Hua Qu. Our team, which included Peter Flanagan, Tim Stratford, and Elaine Wang, advised Ms. Qu regarding engagement with the media and other stakeholders. We also raised Mr. Wang’s case in meetings with senior U.S. and Chinese government officials; Ms. Qu and their son are Chinese nationals, while Mr. Wang was born in China and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Working with key officials, we also pressed Mr. Wang’s case and explored solutions in the final stages of negotiation between the U.S. and the Iranian governments.

Mr. Wang was released on December 7, 2019, and reunited with his family in the United States. Mr. Wang is now a Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. His writings about his experience in Iran and U.S.-Iran relations have been widely published.

Today, we remember the arduous road to freedom that Mr. Wang traversed, celebrate his family’s fortitude and perseverance, and look forward to continuing Covington’s proud tradition of seeking justice for pro bono clients in the most challenging of matters.

Photo of Stephen Rademaker Stephen Rademaker

With wide-ranging experience working on national security issues in the White House, the State Department, and the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Stephen Rademaker helps clients navigate international policy, sanctions, and CFIUS challenges.

Among his accomplishments in public service, Stephen had lead responsibility…

With wide-ranging experience working on national security issues in the White House, the State Department, and the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Stephen Rademaker helps clients navigate international policy, sanctions, and CFIUS challenges.

Among his accomplishments in public service, Stephen had lead responsibility, as a U.S. House staffer, for drafting the legislation that created the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Serving as an Assistant Secretary of State from 2002 through 2006, he headed at various times three bureaus of the State Department, including the Bureau of Arms Control and the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. He directed the Proliferation Security Initiative, as well as nonproliferation policy toward Iran and North Korea, and led strategic dialogues with Russia, China, India, and Pakistan. He also headed U.S. delegations to numerous international conferences, including the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Stephen concluded his government career on Capitol Hill in 2007, serving as Senior Counsel and Policy Director for National Security Affairs for then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). In this role, he helped manage all aspects of the legislative process relating to foreign policy, defense, intelligence and national security. He earlier served as Chief Counsel for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security of the U.S. House of Representatives and as Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the House Committee on International Relations.

During President George H. W. Bush’s administration, Stephen served as General Counsel of the Peace Corps, Associate Counsel to the President in the Office of White House Counsel, and as Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council. After leaving government in 2007, he continued to serve as the U.S. representative on the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, and he was subsequently appointed by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) to the U.S. Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.

In addition to his practice at Covington, Stephen is an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches a course on Sanctions in U.S. Foreign Policy in the Security Studies Program of the School of Foreign Service.

Photo of Christopher Adams Christopher Adams

Christopher Adams advises clients on matters involving China and the region. A non-lawyer, Chris served as the Senior Coordinator for China Affairs at the Treasury Department. He coordinated China policy issues across the U.S. government, led negotiations with China on a broad range…

Christopher Adams advises clients on matters involving China and the region. A non-lawyer, Chris served as the Senior Coordinator for China Affairs at the Treasury Department. He coordinated China policy issues across the U.S. government, led negotiations with China on a broad range of trade and investment issues, managed the highest level U.S.-China economic policy dialogues for the Obama and Trump administrations, and advised the Treasury Secretary and other cabinet officials.

Chris helped develop and implement U.S. trade policy toward China with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) from 2007 to 2015 as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs, Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy USTR, and Minister Counselor for Trade Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, USTR’s first representative in China.

Chris directed government affairs, public relations, and corporate marketing in China for the Eastman Kodak Company from 2001 to 2006 as Chief Representative for China; Vice President, North Asia Region; and Director, Olympic Programs. During this time, Chris was elected to four consecutive terms as a Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in China and served on the Chamber’s Public Policy Development Committee.

Chris assisted companies with market access issues as a commercial officer in the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service in Beijing and Taipei, from 1993 to 2001. Before joining the Commerce Department, Chris managed media relations and information programs with the American Institute in Taiwan and directed business advisory services at a private trade association in Washington, DC.