A U.S. man who is secretly working as an agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been sentenced to U.S. federal prison.
The 65-year-old man Yaoning Mike Sun from Chino Hills, California, was sentenced for helping a local politician win office.
The politician was Arcadia City Council member Eileen Wang, who won in 2022 and is still in office, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Sun was Wang’s fiance and campaign consultant at that time.
The news media also reported that “Campaign records examined by The Times show that Sun helped bring in donations — some of which came from sources with ties to the Chinese government.”
Federal prosecutors said Sun acted under the direction of officials from the CCP from 2022 through early 2024 without registering as a foreign agent as required by law.
Prosecutors also said that Sun helped run a news website aimed at the local Chinese American community, posting pro-CCP content at the direction of Chinese officials.
Prosecutors said his work included targeting Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned in China, which has many adherents in Southern California.
Investigators say Sun also closely tracked the April 2023 visit of Taiwan’s then-president Tsai Ing-wen to Southern California and sent real-time updates on her movements directly to representatives of the CCP.
Sun has been sentenced to four years in federal prison.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement, “Federal law enforcement will not allow hostile foreign nations to infiltrate the governance of our nation’s political bodies.”
After Sun’s arrest, the city of Arcadia said he had no official connection to the city and that council member Wang was not charged.
Sun’s defence argued he did not know he was required to register as a foreign agent and asked for a lighter sentence.
