Washington, Feb 11 A California-based political operative has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for acting as a covert agent of the People’s Republic of China and influencing local US politics.
Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, was sentenced to 48 months by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner of the Central District of California, the Department of Justice said. Sun pleaded guilty in October 2025 to one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
According to the Justice Department, Sun acted at the direction of Chinese government officials from at least 2022 to January 2024 without notifying the US Attorney General, as required by law.
“For years, Sun received and executed taskings from Chinese government officials, distorted our public discourse by disseminating Chinese propaganda, and surveilled groups in the United States that China viewed as threatening its interests as part of a campaign of intimidation,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.
“His conduct represents a brazen violation of our national sovereignty. This sentence reflects our commitment to prosecuting those who would extend the authoritarian reach of the Chinese government on US soil," Eisenberg said.
Sun served as a campaign advisor for a political candidate identified in court documents as “Individual 1,” who was elected to a Southern California city council in November 2022.
“When Americans vote for elected officials, they expect them to represent the interests of their constituents – not those of a foreign adversary like the Chinese government,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “
Federal prosecutors said Sun “orchestrat(ed)” a team to help elect the candidate and promoted pro-PRC propaganda in the United States.
Court documents show that Sun also surveilled the then-President of Taiwan during her April 2023 visit to Southern California. He sent real-time updates on her movements to a PRC consular official in Los Angeles. He also took photographs of protesters supporting and opposing her visit and sent them to the official.
In a February 2023 report to PRC officials, Sun summarized his past service in the People’s Liberation Army and wrote that “most of all, during the 2022 US midterm elections, I orchestrated and organized my team to win the election for city council” for the candidate he described as a “new political star.”
Sun also requested $80,000 from the PRC government to fund a pro-PRC demonstration at a Fourth of July parade in Washington, DC, according to court filings.
Prosecutors said Sun worked covertly with John Chen, also known as Chen Jun, described as a “high-level member of the PRC intelligence apparatus.” Chen was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York to acting as an illegal agent of the PRC and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
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