when shanlin was released, chinese foreign ministry representative mao ning said, this once again demonstrates that china will never abandon its compatriots under any circumstances, and the motherland will always be their strong support."  the two spies xu yanjun and ji chaoqun were convicted on charges related to espionage. ji had been sentenced to 8 years in prison and had been caught trying to gather defense technology for china's state department with xu as a co-conspirator.  china claimed that the three were wrongfully detained and were brought back because of the "tireless efforts of the chinese government." the grants of clemency to the three chinese nationals have brought heightened scrutiny against the biden administration online along with the president's recent blanket pardon of his son, hunter biden.
United States