[7] He was a sophomore at Harvard University in 1950 when the Korean War broke out, which saw his native homeland and his adopted country fight on opposite sides.

[6] Ji left Harvard at the beginning of his junior year and returned to the newly formed People's Republic of China.

[9] When he could not join China's nuclear program, he studied chemistry at Tsinghua University in Beijing, [4][8] He was instead selected to be notetaker at the negotiations in Panmunjom that would eventually bring an end to the Korean War, due to his English-language skills.

He holds the distinction of having been interpreter for Mao Zedong's last two official visits with English-speaking dignitaries, in 1976, months before the chairman's death.

[6] During his long career, Ji's first-hand knowledge of American culture made him a valuable member of the Chinese diplomatic corps.

[10] He was highly respected by US officials, so much so that in 1981, then-Secretary of State Alexander Haig specifically asked the PRC to send Ji to meet with Ronald Reagan in an attempt to defuse tensions between the two sides.

Wang had a similar problem, as her father and mother had become separated at the end of the civil war when the Communists took control and the Nationalists fled to Taiwan.