The
Financial Times on Thursday reported the third Chinese released was Jin Shanlin, a former doctoral student at Southern Methodist University in northern Texas, who was
for possessing and distributing child pornography, with his sentence set to end in 2027. Records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons also show Jin’s status as "not in federal custody."
Jin's case has sparked controversy because of his crime and his family's alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The FBI testified that his family had "important political connections,"
The Dallas Morning News reported in 2022, raising questions about why he was chosen for the exchange over other Chinese nationals in U.S. custody.