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Two Chinese spies and a Chinese national who was charged with distributing child pornography were part of a White House prisoner swap as Biden’s presidency drew to a close.
On November 22, Biden granted clemency to Yanjun Xu, Ji Chaoqun and Shanlin Jin.
Their releases were part of a prisoner swap that returned three wrongfully detained Americans from Chinese custody: Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung.
The three Americans returned to the US before Thanksgiving.
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Mark Swidan was arrested in China in 2012 on drug charges that the UN says are not legitimate. (Mark Swidan Family)
Harrison Li holds a photo of his father, Kai Li, in Palo Alto, Calif., in January. (AP/Jeff Chiu)
Xu and Chaoqun were both Chinese citizens who were convicted of espionage in the US
Xu, according to liberation of the Department of Justice, was the first Chinese government intelligence official to be extradited to the United States for trial and was sentenced to 20 years.
According to court documents, Xu targeted US airlines, recruited employees to travel to China and solicited their proprietary information, all on behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC ).
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In one example, noted in court documents, Xu tried to steal technology related to GE Aviation unique composite aircraft engine fan module, which no other company in the world has been able to duplicate, to benefit the Chinese state.
The Justice Department said Xu openly discussed his effort to steal US military information in addition to commercial aviation trade secrets.
Yanjun Xu, the first Chinese spy extradited to the United States for trial, was convicted in 2021 of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. (US District Court)
A federal jury in Chicago in September 2023 convicted Ji Chaoqun, 31, of conspiring to act as an agent of China’s Ministry of State Security without notifying the U.S. attorney general, acting as a spy for the USA and lie on a government form about his contacts with foreign agencies. (Gune 32)
Chaoqun was arrested and convicted after working with Xu on behalf of the CCP.
The federal agency said Xu recruited and “managed” Chaoqun, who was stationed in Chicago for the duration of the scheme.
The DOJ said that Xu directed Chaoqun to gather “biographical information about people to potentially recruit to work with them.”
“Xu’s handling and placement of a spy in the United States to obtain information on aviation technology and employees is another facet of Xu’s heinous crimes against the United States and further warrants significant condemnation prison term he received today,” US Attorney Parker said at the pair’s sentencing.
Jin was serving his sentence after being convicted of possessing more than 47,000 images of child pornography while a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 2021.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the latest developments in Syria from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on December 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Pete Marovich/Getty Images)
Biden traveled Thursday the convictions of 1,499 people. It also pardons 39 people who were convicted of non-violent crimes.
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President-elect Trump will take office in just over a month, on January 20th. He has said he will immediately pardon people convicted of participating in the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol.
