Shocking Spy Scandal Hits California Politics

A Chinese intelligence operative didn’t just spy from the shadows—he helped run a California campaign, financed it, and got close enough to call an elected official his fiancée.

Story Snapshot

Federal court sentenced Yaoning “Mike” Sun to 48 months for acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China while serving as a campaign adviser and fiancé to Arcadia official Eileen Wang.
Prosecutors said Sun helped cultivate Wang as a rising local politician while advancing pro-Beijing influence efforts and coordinating propaganda activity.
Authorities said Sun provided PRC-linked contacts with real-time information and photos while surveilling Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen during her Southern California visit.
Wang has not been charged with a crime and says she was deceived; she remains in office after being sworn in as mayor days before Sun’s sentencing.

Sentencing underscores how foreign influence can start at city hall

Federal prosecutors described a campaign-and-romance operation with a hard national-security edge: Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, received a 48-month prison sentence on Feb. 10, 2026, after pleading guilty to acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China. Sun had positioned himself inside Arcadia’s local politics as Eileen Wang’s campaign adviser, treasurer, and fiancé during her 2022 council run—an arrangement that gave him direct access to strategy, funding, and messaging.

The court’s sentence landed between what prosecutors sought (60 months) and what the defense requested (time served, roughly 15 months). That split matters because it signals two realities at once: judges are treating foreign-agent activity as serious, but Sun’s attorneys argued he had lived a largely law-abiding life for decades after immigrating to the United States in 1996. The bottom line for voters is simpler: a foreign-government agent penetrated a local campaign operation without public disclosure.

What investigators say Sun actually did for the PRC

According to authorities and court records, Sun worked for years as an illegal PRC agent, submitting reports to government officials and taking direction from figures tied to Chinese intelligence networks. Prosecutors linked him to John Chen, described as a high-level PRC operative who supervised Sun; Chen was sentenced to 20 months in 2024. Investigators also said Sun worked to counter Falun Gong activity and to oppose pro-Taiwan independence forces in Southern California—issues Beijing treats as political priorities.

One of the most concrete episodes described by law enforcement involved Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s April 2023 visit to Southern California. Authorities said Sun conducted surveillance and transmitted real-time movement updates and photographs to PRC consular officials. Those details move the story beyond “influence” and into operational behavior on U.S. soil connected to a foreign adversary’s interests. FBI counterintelligence officials framed the case as an attempt to undermine democratic institutions by exploiting the trust voters place in their representatives.

Arcadia’s demographics and the vulnerability of down-ballot politics

Arcadia sits in the San Gabriel Valley, where reporting noted roughly 60% of residents are of Asian descent. That reality is not an indictment of anyone’s heritage; it is part of the strategic environment foreign governments study when targeting communities, media, and elections. Investigators said Sun had been embedded in local Chinese community circles for decades, which can confer credibility and access. The case shows how influence operations can bypass Washington entirely by focusing on city councils, mayors, and neighborhood-level institutions.

Campaign finance and messaging also mattered. Reporting said Sun helped bring donations into Wang’s 2022 campaign, including some tied to sources with links to the Chinese government. Separately, investigators described a propaganda component: Sun and Wang were associated with a Chinese-language outlet, US News Center, that allegedly disseminated pro-PRC narratives, sometimes at the request of Chinese officials. When foreign-linked funding, media, and campaign management converge, voters can be left guessing which interests were truly being served.

Wang remains in office, raising accountability questions for local governance

Wang has not been charged with any crime, and she has publicly said she was deceived. She stated that her relationship with Sun ended months before he was charged and later emphasized that her loyalty is only to the United States. She also resisted calls to resign, saying she was not responsible for another person’s actions. Still, Sun’s central role in her campaign—adviser, treasurer, and romantic partner—creates an unavoidable political problem: residents deserve clear answers about vetting, donations, and internal controls.

The case also highlights a broader constitutional concern conservatives have raised for years: Americans cannot self-govern if foreign states can quietly shape local elections through undisclosed agents, manipulated information, or disguised funding streams. Federal officials say they will keep monitoring similar operations. For communities, the near-term priority is transparency—stronger disclosure rules, tighter scrutiny of campaign treasurers and consultants, and serious cooperation with federal counterintelligence when red flags appear—so city hall answers to voters, not Beijing.