Washington [US], December 24 : Amidst growing concerns about Chinese infiltration, US investigators have charged a man as an "illegal agent" of China while working as the campaign manager for a candidate in a municipal election in a California city.
Radio Free Asia has identified the 64-year-old man as Mike Sun, also known as Sun Yaoning. He was arrested on December 19 and accused of "allegedly acting as an illegal agent of the People's Republic of China (PRC) while serving as the campaign manager for a political candidate" in the 2022 municipal elections.
He was also accused of "conspiring" with Chen Jun, who was sentenced to 20 months in prison last month for acting as an unregistered Chinese agent and bribing an IRS agent in connection with a scheme to target US-based practitioners of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, Radio Free Asia reported.
Sun's arrest is just one example of a broader and ongoing Chinese influence campaign on US soil, referred to within Chinese government circles as "Project Termite." This covert operation, likened to termites slowly eroding a structure from within, has been described by pro-democracy activists and a former Chinese official in recent interviews with RFA Mandarin.
Through "Project Termite," the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department is working to expand the party's political influence well beyond China's borders. This outreach and influence campaign aims to infiltrate foreign governments, institutions, and communities to advance Beijing's interests globally.
Sun acted as the campaign manager and a close personal advisor to a Southern California politician who ran for local office in 2022. Additionally, Sun had engaged in discussions with Chinese government officials about strategies to "influence" US local politicians, particularly regarding the issue of Taiwan.
He sent detailed reports to Chinese officials, organised meetings, and sought financial support to sway the politicians' stance on Taiwan, a democratic nation that Beijing claims as its own, despite it never having been part of the People's Republic of China.
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