The Chinese government allegedly used a Chino Hills man in an effort to advance policies favorable to the People’s Republic of China in Southern California local governments, according to a criminal complaint released Thursday.
Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, was charged with acting as an illegal agent of a foreign power and conspiring with another man — John Chen — who had been plotting to target U.S.-based practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned in China. Chen was sentenced last month to 20 months in prison for acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China and bribing an Internal Revenue Service agent.
Sun, a Chinese national, served as the campaign manager and business partner for a Southern California politician, described in court records only as Individual 1. The politician was running for local elected office in 2022.
During the campaign, prosecutors allege, Sun communicated with Chen about his efforts to get the politician elected to a city council. Chen relayed information to officials in the Chinese government officials about how it could influence local-level politicians in the United States, particularly in getting them to oppose Taiwan‘s independence, according to the complaint.
U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada called the case “another example of a very disturbing trend” of the Chinese government seeking to influence foreign and domestic policies in the United States. China takes a broad approach, he said, including connecting with local government officials who might not yet be on the national stage.
Estrada said a goal of the scheme was to reduce “support in our country for Falun Gong and … for pro-democracy movements in China.”
The scope of the effort and whether it led to any concrete actions to favor China is unclear.
But the indictment comes at a time of souring U.S.-China relations and a looming trade war as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House.
There have been growing signs that China is attempting to influence state and local governments. In 2022, federal authorities issued a notice warning that the Chinese were collecting personal information about state and local leaders and trying court those who might rise to higher office, according to documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
Earlier this year, federal authorities charged a woman who had served as a senior deputy to two New York governors with being a Chinese agent working to push that government’s agenda. Prosecutors alleged that Linda Sun‘s actions included preventing representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to the governor’s office.
Yaoning Sun was arrested Thursday morning. If convicted of all charges, he faces up to 15 years in federal prison, prosecutors said. Neither he nor Chen could immediately be reached for comment.
The U.S. attorney’s office declined to name the person identified in records as Individual 1, who was elected to a local council. It is not clear whether the individual was aware of Sun‘s or Chen’s alleged connections to Chinese government officials.
Prosecutors have not charged the politician with any crime. However, they said the investigation is ongoing.
In November 2022, shortly after Individual 1 was elected to office, Chen asked Sun to prepare a report on the election that was sent to Chinese government officials and referred to the newly elected council member as a “new political star,” according to prosecutors.
Chen also told Sun to make a list of mainstream U.S. politicians with whom Individual 1 is familiar, noting “the more the better, the higher position the better.” Chen told him this list would be “very effective to elevate [the elected official’s] status in China,” the criminal complaint states.
In early January 2023, Chen communicated with a Chinese government official, saying that he had told the council member he “will support [him/her] to do [his/her] job as Chinese American elected official well, go against Taiwanese independence … write up [his/her] deeds in a document and report to China.” The Chinese official, records show, responded: “That’s great!”
In late January, the city council member sent Chen a thank-you note for attending their Chinese New Year event. Chen responded by applauding the politician’s work.
“You are doing a good job, I hope you can continue the good work, make Chinese people proud,” he wrote, according to the complaint.
In a report drafted by Sun and Chen for Chinese government officials in February 2023, the men also asked for $80,000 to go to Washington D.C. to train locals, organize a float and a 100-person drum band that would perform in red uniforms for the National Independence Day Parade that July 4.
The men note in the report that Taiwan’s flag, which they refer to as a “false flag,” and Falun Gong had been featured in parades in the United States, according to the complaint.
It is unclear whether the men received the requested funds.
Chen was indicted in June 2023 in a separate case in New York in which prosecutors alleged he worked in the United States at the direction of the People’s Republic of China to further its campaign against practitioners of Falun Gong. The Chinese government sees Falun Gong as a threat to the continuation of Communist Party control of the country, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
While he was in custody, prosecutors allege Chen told his cellmate that he was a Chinese spy working for an agency that’s “100 times better than the FBI,” according to the complaint.
