Arcadia City Hall (Photo – Ann Hunnewell)
A Chino Hills man, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, was arrested by federal officials on charges of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign power and conspiring with another man, John Chen.
By Claire Caissée
Sun and Chen were conspiring to target U.S-based practitioners of Falun Gong, support for Taiwan, and other pro-democracy organizations. Chen was sentenced last month to 20 months in prison for acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China and bribing an Internal Revenue Service agent. If convicted, Sun faces a potential 15-year sentence.
Mike Sun is connected to Eileen Wang, an Arcadia Councilwoman, both personally and politically, acting as her campaign manager and business partner. Wang was elected in 2022. Her term expires November 2026. Although not named or charged, she was cited as ‘Individual 1’ in court records and the investigation is ongoing.
U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada decried these attempts of the Chinese government seeking to influence foreign and domestic policies in the United States.
Claire Caissée is a resident of the San Gabriel Valley.
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