California Political Operative Yaoning 'Mike' Sun Arrested on Charges of Acting as an Illegal Agent of China
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on December 19 that Yaoning "Mike" Sun, 64, a resident of San Bernardino County, California, was arrested that day in California. A criminal complaint filed December 17 and unsealed that morning charges Sun with acting as an illegal agent of the People's Republic of China (PRC) while serving as the campaign manager for a political candidate who was elected in 2022 to the city council of a California city. Sun was expected to make his initial appearance that afternoon in the Central District of California. A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and Sun is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
According to the complaint, Sun served as the campaign manager and close personal confidante for a Southern California politician, referred to as Individual 1, who ran for local elected office in 2022. During the campaign, Sun communicated with Chen Jun regarding his efforts to get Individual 1 elected. Chen allegedly discussed with Chinese government officials how the PRC could "influence" local politicians in the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan. In November 2022, shortly after Individual 1 was elected, Chen instructed Sun to prepare a report on the election that was sent to Chinese government officials, who responded positively and expressed thanks, according to the complaint.
About a month after the election, Chen arranged a lunch at a restaurant in Rowland Heights with Sun and others, a gathering Chen described to a PRC official as a "core member lunch," the complaint alleges. Participants agreed to establish a "US-China Friendship Promotional Association." Individual 1 did not attend the meeting, but Chen identified Individual 1 as part of "the basic team dedicated for us" in a communication to a Chinese government official. In early 2023, Chen instructed Sun to write another report for Chinese officials describing Sun and Chen "cultivating and assisting Individual 1's success."
In February 2023, Sun forwarded to Chen a proposal to combat "anti-China forces" by participating in a U.S. Independence Day parade in Washington, D.C., proposing that the PRC government provide an $80,000 budget to support their efforts in the United States, according to the complaint. After the two discussed a planned trip to China to meet with "leadership," and after Chen directed Sun to schedule a meeting with the Chinese consul general in Los Angeles, Sun and Individual 1 traveled to China in August 2023.
Sun is also charged with conspiring with Chen Jun, who was sentenced to prison the previous month for bribery and acting as an illegal agent of the PRC government. If convicted, Sun faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and five years for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States; any sentence would be determined by a federal district court judge. The FBI is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ryan and Amanda Elbogen for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Case No. 2:24-cr-00777-RGK. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于洛杉矶市中心第一街的美国联邦法院大楼（First Street Courthouse），加州中区联邦地区法院所在地，孙耀宁在此首次出庭。Daniel L. Lu 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The First Street United States Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, home of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, where Yaoning Sun made his initial appearance. Photo by Daniel L. Lu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
