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Two Chinese spies and a Chinese national who was charged for disseminating child pornography were part of a White House prisoner swap as Biden’s presidency nears the end.
On Nov. 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 U.S. before Thanksgiving.
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Mark Swidan was arrested in China in 2012 on drug charges the U.N. says aren’t 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 nationals who were convicted of espionage in the U.S.
Xu, according to a release from the Department of Justice, was the first Chinese government intelligence officer ever to be extradited to the United States to stand trial and was sentenced to 20 years.
According to court documents, Xu targeted American aviation companies, 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 attempted to steal technology related to GE Aviation’s exclusive composite aircraft engine fan module – which no other company in the world has been able to duplicate – to benefit the Chinese state.
The Department of Justice said that Xu openly discussed his effort to steal U.S. military information in addition to commercial aviation trade secrets.
Yanjun Xu, the first Chinese spy extradited to the US for trial, was convicted in 2021 on counts of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage and trade secret theft. (U.S. District Court)
A federal jury in Chicago in…
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