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California Man Sentenced for Spying for China as Campaign Aide
Yaoning Sun covertly supported pro-China political efforts and surveilled targets, leading to a four-year prison sentence for acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government.
- On Monday, Yaoning Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, was sentenced to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty in October to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
- Throughout 2022 to January 2024, Yaoning Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, obeyed directions from Chinese officials and worked as a campaign adviser helping a politician in Arcadia with donations, some from sources tied to China.
- During the April 2023 visit of then‑President Tsai Ing‑Wen, Yaoning Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, sent real‑time updates and photographs to Chinese officials while also countering Falun Gong and publishing pro‑PRC propaganda on a joint news site.
- Federal prosecutors recommended 60 months imprisonment and supervised release, public defenders urged no more than 15 months, and Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, praised the sentence as accountability.
- Sun cooperated with John Chen , a high-level Chinese intelligence agent who met Xi Jinping and was sentenced in November 2024, aligning with a National Counterintelligence and Security Center bulletin warning that China targets U.S. state and local elected officials.
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CCP Agent Who Helped Elect California Mayor Sentenced to Four Years in Prison - Real News Now
A man who once helped manage the campaign of a California mayor was sentenced Monday to four years in federal prison for secretly acting as a foreign agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, was found guilty of funneling propaganda, interfering in U.S. political processes, and spying on Chinese dissident groups — all on behalf of the Chinese government. Sun previously served as campaign treasurer to Arcadia Mayor Eilee…
Man sentenced to 4 years for acting as agent for China while working for California politician
According to the plea deal, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, received instructions from Chinese government officials to post pro-Beijing content on a website he ran with another individual who became a candidate for local office and won election in 2022.
·San Jose, United States
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Total News Sources26
Leaning Left8Leaning Right6Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Left
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Left
40% Left
L 40%
C 30%
R 30%
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