(CN) — FBI agents arrested a Los Angeles man on Thursday, accusing him of acting an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China while serving as the campaign manager for a Southern California politician.
Authorities say Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, sought to influence U.S. politicians on the issue of Taiwan and promote activities against “anti-China forces” in the U.S., including practitioners of Falun Gong — a spiritual practice banned by China’s authoritarian government.
“We cannot permit hostile foreign powers to meddle in the governance of our country,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement.
Sun was arrested without incident Thursday and is expected to make his initial appearance in the downtown Los Angeles federal court.
Sun also faces charges of conspiring with another man, Jun Chen, who was sentenced to federal prison last month for attempting to bribe U.S. officials as part of a Chinese state-funded scheme to topple the Falun Gong movement.
Justice Department officials called the revelation “deeply concerning.”
“This case highlights the breadth of the PRC’s relentless intelligence and malign influence activities targeting the United States,” said Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
A religious movement founded in the early 1990s, Falun Gong borrows heavily from Buddhist and Taoist traditions and boasts about 20 million practitioners worldwide. Its followers are best known in the United States for operating the popular Shen Yun dance troupe and the Epoch Times, an ultra-conservative news organization.
According to the criminal complaint, Sun served as the campaign manager and close personal confidante for a Southern California politician who was running for local elected office in 2022, described in the affidavit as “Individual 1.” The politician was successfully elected to a city council position in 2022.
Chen, the co-conspirator, discussed with Chinese government officials how the PRC could “influence” local politicians in the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan, according to the complaint.
In November 2022, shortly after Individual 1 was elected to office, 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 an affidavit. Chen also sent a message to Individual 1 stating that the politician was doing a good job.
Chen said to the politician that he hoped he could continue the good work and make Chinese people proud, the affidavit states.
Sun also supposedly met with Chen and others for lunch at a Rowland Heights restaurant, a gathering that Chen described to a Chinese official as a “core member lunch,” the affidavit claims. Chen subsequently described the lunch as successful after as participants agreed to establish a “U.S.-China Friendship Promotional Association.”
While Individual 1 did not attend the meeting, Chen described them as being part of the association and Sun as its vice president.
The Chinese government has dedicated significant resources to harassing Falun Gong adherents in recent years, calling them one of the “Five Poisons,” or one of the top five threats to its rule, alongside Taiwanese independence, Tibetan independence and the Chinese democracy movement.
In a February 2023 draft of a report to Chinese officials, Sun reportedly described his personal background, his history of working against “Chinese secessionist forces,” and boasted that he was proud of “orchestrating” the win for Individual 1 during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections.
In later communications, Chen and Sun reportedly described Individual 1 as a “new political star” with connections to other prominent politicians. Chen and Sun also discussed their past struggle fighting against Taiwanese independence forces over the years and fighting Falun Gong influences in an unspecified California city.
Authorities say that in February 2023, Sun and Chen drafted a second report to Chinese officials that requested an $80,000 budget to fund additional pro-PRC activities and to combat “anti-China forces” in the United States.
“We commend the Department of Justice for its diligence in countering the Chinese Communist Party’s transnational repression targeting Falun Gong,” Alice Sun, an L.A.-based Falun Gong group coordinator, said in a statement. “We are aware that the CCP is intensifying its efforts to target Falun Gong through its spies in the U.S., as well as through YouTubers and even U.S. media outlets. Our government must take stronger measures to curb the CCP’s reach and influence.”
The charge of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. The charge of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States carries a maximum statutory sentence of five years.
This FBI’s investigation remains ongoing.