Chinese man charged with acting as Beijing agent in local California election

A Chinese man was arrested this week on charges of acting as an illegal agent for Beijing while serving as the campaign manager for a Los Angeles-area politician, in a case that highlights rising concerns that the Chinese government has cultivated a network of operatives to influence US politicians and advance their interests.

US authorities on Thursday arrested Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, on accusations he worked for the Chinese government while trying to get an unnamed politician elected to a southern California city council.

Authorities also accuse Sun of conspiring with another Chinese man, Chen Jun, who was sentenced to 20 months last month for acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.

Chen pleaded guilty in July to using Chinese money to bribe federal agents to undermine the anti-Beijing spiritual group Falun Gong.

According to the government’s affidavit in the case against Sun, Sun and Chen communicated during the campaign on the former’s effort to get the local politician elected in the 2022 elections. In November 2022, shortly after the vote, Chen instructed Sun to prepare a report on the election that was sent to Chinese government officials, the complaint says.

The following year, prosecutors say, Chen again instructed Sun to write up a report describing how the men were “cultivating and assisting” the politician’s “success”.

Other writings between the two men described the city councilperson as a “new political star” and included a request for $80,000 to fund more pro-Beijing activities in the US, according to the court documents.

Throughout 2022 and 2023, prosecutors say, Chen was in “active communication” with Chinese government officials regarding local US politicians China could “influence”, particularly on the issue of Taiwan. Chen specifically communicated with those officials regarding the election of the local politician.

In his conversations with Beijing, Chen referred to Sun and the politician as being part of a “basic team dedicated for us”, prosecutors allege.

The councilperson is not named in the court papers. But Sun is listed as a campaign treasurer for Eileen Wang, who was a city council candidate in Arcadia, in the San Gabriel Valley in 2022, on a campaign statement filing stamped in February of that year, according to records on the city’s website. In filings later in 2022, another individual is listed as the treasurer, the records show.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Sun had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

On Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry said it was unfamiliar with the case but said China “never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries”.

Wang didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment and a message was left on a phone number listed online as belonging to her. Jackie Tran, a spokesperson for the city of Arcadia, didn’t immediately return a phone message.

Martin Estrada, the US attorney for the central district of California, said in a call with reporters that he saw the California case as “another example of a very disturbing trend: the People’s Republic of China is seeking to influence foreign and domestic policy in the United States”.

“To do so, government officials in China are seeking to help get elected individuals who they see as being friendly to Chinese foreign policy,” Estrada said.

The charges against Sun followed those against a former aide to New York governor Kathy Hochul and her predecessor Andrew Cuomo in September. Authorities have accused the aide, Linda Sun, of acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government and using her positions to subtly advance Beijing’s agenda in exchange for financial benefits worth millions of dollars.

Estrada said Yaoning Sun appeared to be ideologically invested in furthering the interests of the Chinese government in the United States, noting that he had previously served in the Chinese military. The complaint does not specify financial gains for Yaoning Sun, who probably is not related to Linda Sun because they share a common Chinese name.

In the affidavit, it’s alleged that Chen and Sun worked closely together. Chen and Sun discussed how to set up a meeting for the politician close to Sun to meet with the top Chinese diplomat in Los Angeles and arrange travel plans for the politician to visit China.

Sun also ran a media outlet called the US News Center with the councilperson and paid for some of the politician’s travel expenses.

Sun is listed on his public LinkedIn profile as the director of US News Center, of which Wang is registered as the owner in California.