A Chinese national was arrested Thursday on charges of acting as an illegal agent for Beijing when he worked as campaign manager for an unnamed politician who was elected to a city council in Southern California two years ago.
The arrest of Liaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, came at a time of growing concerns that the Chinese government has cultivated a network of operatives to influence local elections in the United States to appoint politicians friendly to Beijing and who can help advance Chinese interests.
According to a complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Sun is accused of conspiring with Chen Jun, who was sentenced to 20 months in prison last month on charges of acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government.
Chen, 71, 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 charge against Sun shows 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.
Sun was instructed by Chen to write a report in 2023 to tell Chinese officials how they helped the local politician win the election, according to the affidavit. Subsequent writings between the two men described the city councilman as a “new political star” and included a request for $80,000 to fund more pro-Beijing activities in the United States, according to court documents.
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Chen asked Sun to list all the American politicians with whom the city councilor was familiar, and told Sun that it would be “very effective to raise” the councilman’s status in China.
“This case is another example of a very troubling trend: The People’s Republic of China seeks to influence the foreign and domestic policy of the United States,” Martin Estrada, US Attorney for the Central District of California, said in a call with reporters. . “To do this, government officials in China seek to help elect individuals they consider friendly to Chinese foreign policy.”
The charges against Son follow those brought against a former aide to two New York governors in September. Authorities accused Linda Sun of acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government and using her positions to subtly advance Beijing’s agenda in exchange for financial benefits worth millions of dollars.
In California, Estrada said that Yaoning Sun appears to have been ideologically invested in promoting the interests of the Chinese government in the United States, noting that he previously served in the Chinese army. The complaint does not specify the financial gains to Yaoning Sun, who may not be related to Linda Sun because they share a common Chinese name.
It is alleged in the affidavit that Yaoning Sun, who resides in Chino Hills outside Los Angeles, also ran a media outlet called “American News Center” with the councilman and paid for some of the politician’s travel expenses.
Prosecutors say Sun worked closely with Chen, who appeared to be in regular contact with Chinese officials. Their communications included how to protest a proposed visit by a US Congressman to Taiwan, an autonomous island that Beijing considers part of Chinese territory.
The men discussed how to arrange a meeting for the politician to meet China’s top diplomat in Los Angeles and arrange the politician’s travel plans to visit China.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
