As President Biden's term draws to a close, two Chinese spies and a Chinese national charged with distributing child pornography have taken part in a White House prisoner swap.
On November 22, Biden pardoned Yanjun Xu, Ji Chaoqun, and Shanlin Jin.
Their release was part of a prisoner exchange that returned three wrongfully detained Americans from Chinese custody: Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung.
The three Americans returned to the United States before Thanksgiving.
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Mark Swidan was arrested in China in 2012 on drug charges, which the United Nations says are illegal. (Mark Swidan family)
Harrison Lee with a photo of his father, Kai Lee, in Palo Alto, California, in January. (AP/Jeff Chiu)
Mr. Xu and Mr. Chaokun, both Chinese nationals, were convicted of espionage in the United States.
Xu is the first Chinese government intelligence officer to be extradited to the United States for trial and sentenced to 20 years in prison, the Justice Department said.
According to court documents, Mr. Xu targeted U.S. airlines, solicited employees to travel to China, and requested classified information, all on behalf of the government of the People's Republic of China.
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In one example described in court documents, Mr. Xu stole technology related to GE Aviation's proprietary composite aircraft engine fan module (which no other company in the world could imitate) for the benefit of the Chinese state. I was about to.
The Justice Department said Mr. Xu spoke publicly about efforts to steal U.S. military information in addition to commercial aviation trade secrets.
Yanjun Xu, the first Chinese spy to be extradited to the United States for trial, was convicted in 2021 of economic espionage and conspiracy and attempted theft of trade secrets. (U.S. District Court)
In September 2023, a federal jury in Chicago indicted Ji, 31, on charges of acting as an employee of China's Ministry of State Security without notifying the U.S. attorney general, acting as a spy in the United States, and lying on government documents.・Chao-kun was found guilty. Liaison with foreign agents. (Fox 32)
Chaoqun was arrested and convicted after collaborating with Xu on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
Federal authorities said Mr. Xu recruited and “treated” Mr. Chao-kun, who was stationed in Chicago during the scheme.
The Justice Department said Mr. Xu directed Mr. Chao-kun to collect “biographical information on people he might recruit to work with him.”
“Mr. Xu's handling and deployment of spies within the United States to obtain information about aviation technology and employees is another aspect of Mr. Xu's terrible crimes against the United States, and today he “This further justifies the significant prison sentence he received.” At the time of their conviction.
Jin was in prison in 2021 after being convicted of possessing more than 47,000 images of child pornography while a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
President Joe Biden speaks about the latest developments in Syria from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 8, 2024. (Pete Marovich/Getty Images)
Biden commuted the sentences of 1,499 people on Thursday. He also pardoned 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes.
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President-elect Trump, who is scheduled to take office in just over a month on January 20, has announced that he will immediately pardon those convicted of taking part in the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. said.
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