President Biden recently pardoned two Chinese spies and a relative of a high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party in a prisoner swap with China. This information was made public when the three individuals were granted clemencies. Yanjun Xu and Ji Chaoqun, convicted of espionage, were among those pardoned, along with Shanlin Jin, who was caught with over 47,000 images of child pornography. These pardons were signed by President Biden on November 22. Additionally, the Chinese government released three Americans who were serving prison sentences in China as part of this exchange.
This news follows a crackdown on alleged Chinese spies in New York and a report criticizing the Department of Justice for not doing enough to combat Chinese espionage in the US. Yanjun Xu, the first Chinese intelligence officer ever extradited to the US, was convicted of trying to steal technology from US aviation companies. He worked with Ji Chaoqun to gather information and hack computers in hotel rooms. Ji also failed to disclose his ties to Chinese intelligence while enlisting in the US Army Reserves.
In addition to these cases, a former aide to New York State governor Kathy Hochul was charged with espionage and money laundering for allegedly working as a Chinese spy. The Post also revealed a Chinese police station in Lower Manhattan tasked with spying on and harassing Chinese dissidents. These revelations shed light on the ongoing issue of Chinese espionage in the US. Gui’an Lin served as the chief assistant to former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.
Winnie Greco, who was previously an Asian Affairs aide to Mayor Eric Adams and had strong connections to the CCP, stepped down in October following FBI raids on her Bronx residences.
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