It was a prisoner exchange. Tough call. I suppose I could throw it back in your faces and say 'you would have three Americans rot in jail in China?' Probably not smart to be simplistic about prisoner swaps. They can be ugly, but they get our people back.
President Joe Biden has granted clemency to two Chinese spies and a Chinese national convicted of child pornography charges as part of a prisoner swap with China, a decision that has ignited widespread controversy. In exchange, China released three detained Americans who had been imprisoned for years, including Texas businessman Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung. The arrangement, kept under wraps until recently, highlights the complex and often fraught nature of diplomatic negotiations.
The U.S. secured the release of three Americans as part of the deal. Mark Swidan had been detained in China since 2012 on disputed drug-related charges, while Kai Li and John Leung were imprisoned on espionage charges.
Their return was the culmination of years of negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials, with Biden administration sources describing the swap as a complex and sensitive diplomatic achievement.