A Chinese national was arrested Thursday on charges of acting as an illegal agent for Beijing while working as the campaign manager for an unnamed politician elected to a city council in Southern California two years ago.
The arrest of Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, comes at a time of growing concerns that the Chinese government has created a network of operatives to influence local elections in the US to install politicians who are favorable to Beijing and Chinese interests. Can help promote.
According to a complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Central District of California, Sun is accused of conspiring with Chen Jun, who was sentenced last month to 20 months for working as an illegal agent of the Chinese government. Went.
Chen, 71, who is also a Chinese citizen, pleaded guilty in July to using Chinese money to bribe federal agents to undermine the anti-Beijing spiritual group Falun Gong. The charges against Sun suggest that Chen also conspired to interfere in local elections.
It was not immediately clear whether Sun had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
According to the affidavit, Chen instructed Sun to write a report in 2023 to explain to Chinese authorities how he helped a local politician get elected. According to court documents, subsequent texts between the two men described the city council member as a “new political star” and included a request for $80,000 for pro-Beijing activities in the United States.
Chen asked Sun for a list of all the mainstream American politicians with whom the city councilperson was familiar and told Sun that it would be “very effective in upgrading” the councilperson’s status in China.
“This case is another example of a very disturbing trend: the People’s Republic of China trying to influence foreign and domestic policy in the United States,” Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, told reporters. Used to be.” , “To do this, government officials in China are seeking to help elect individuals they view as favorable to Chinese foreign policy.”
The charges against Sun follow allegations made in September against a former aide to two New York governors. Authorities have accused Linda Sun of working as an illegal agent of the Chinese government and using her positions to advance Beijing’s agenda in exchange for millions of dollars in financial benefits.
In California, Estrada said that Yaoning Sun appeared to be ideologically invested in furthering the Chinese government’s interests in the United States, noting that he had previously served in the Chinese military. The complaint does not specify financial benefits for Yaoning Sun, who is presumably not related to Linda Sun because they share the same Chinese name.
In the affidavit, it is alleged that Yaoning Sun, a resident of Chino Hills outside Los Angeles, also ran a media outlet called “US News Center” with the councilperson and paid for some of the politician’s travel expenses.
Prosecutors say Sun worked closely with Chen, who was in regular contact with Chinese officials. His communications included protesting a proposed visit by a member of the US Congress to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing views as part of Chinese territory.
The people discussed how to arrange a meeting for the politician to meet with a top Chinese diplomat in Los Angeles and how to arrange a visit to China for the politician.
(Tags to translate)US news(T)Beijing(T)California(T)China(T)foreign
