Yaoning Sun gets 4 years in prison for acting as Beijing’s agent in California election

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Associated PressFebruary 10, 2026 at 08:14 PM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

Yaoning "Mike" Sun, a 65-year-old California man, was sentenced to four years in prison for acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government. Sun, who worked as a campaign advisor for a local politician, pleaded guilty to the charge, admitting he acted on behalf of the People's Republic of China from 2022 to 2024 without proper notification. The sentencing occurred in federal court in Los Angeles. Federal prosecutors initially sought a five-year sentence. The FBI stated that elected officials are expected to represent their constituents, not foreign adversaries. Sun's lawyer requested time served, highlighting Sun's law-abiding life since immigrating from China in 1996.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Linda Sun ×230% Roman Rozhavsky 40% Adam Olin ×240% Los Angeles 50% Federal Bureau of Investigation 50% California 60% United States 70% People's Republic of China 80% Yaoning "Mike" Sun ×490%

Keywords

foreign agent 100% chinese government 90% election interference 80% yaoning sun 70% espionage 60% people's republic of china 50% federal court 50% campaign adviser 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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foreign agent chinese government election interference yaoning sun espionage people's republic of china federal court campaign adviser

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