Feds: Another Chinese Agent Cozied Up to U.S. Politician
A federal court sentenced John Chen to 20 months in prison for acting as an unregistered agent of China. His crimes included bribing the IRS to target a Falun Gong practitioner and passing information about “friendly” U.S. politicians to China.
Targeted Falun Gong Members
Chen and his co-defendant Lin Feng, 44, from the PRC, also living in Los Angeles, worked on orders from PRC government officials to harass and repress Falon Gong practitioners, according to the DOJ’s statement.
Chen and Feng pleaded guilty on July 25, 2024, to the charges related to using a whistleblower complaint against a Falun Gong practitioner and then bribing an IRS official to push it through, as detailed in The Daily Muck’s previous coverage. This was after being charged in May 2023 with working with the Chinese government against the Falun Gong.
China: Falun Gong is an ‘Evil Cult’
The Chinese government views Falun Gong as “an evil cult” that threatens the stability of the Chinese government because of its anti-government message. China declared the “Rule of Law” against Falon Gong in 1999 during a peaceful protest, and the Chinese government has been accused by Falun Gong of human rights violations, abuse and harassment ever since.
The U.S. State Department issued a statement on July 20, 2024, marking 25 years since the beginning of the PRC’s campaign against the practitioners of Falun Gong.
Chen Conspired with Local Campaign Manager
Chen allegedly also conspired with Yaoning Sun, a.k.a. “Mike Sun,” 64, a resident of Chino Hills, Calif., who was arrested on Dec. 17, 2024, on charges of acting as an agent of the Chinese government while working as the campaign manager for a local U.S. politician running for city council in 2022, according to Sun’s DOJ press release.
During the campaign, Chen and Sun allegedly spoke about the election, and Chen reportedly discussed with Chinese officials ways the PRC government could “influence” local U.S. government officials on issues like Taiwan, according to Sun’s complaint. Chen allegedly instructed Sun to provide reports about the 2022 election for Chen to send to the PRC government.
Chen allegedly also sent names and photos to PRC officials of local U.S. government politicians who were “friendly to China,” according to Sun’s complaint. The PRC official would then send a message for Chen to deliver to the U.S. politician.
Core Member Meeting
In December 2022, Chen and Sun reportedly organized a “core member” meeting to discuss strategies for making the best use of the local politicians and mainstream media for the PRC’s benefit, according to the complaint.
Until September of 2023, Sun allegedly worked with Chen to coordinate talks and actions of U.S. officials and the mainstream media under the direction of the PRC government, as detailed in the complaint. In exchange, the PRC government provided tens of thousands of dollars in financial support to Sun and Chen, even donating to Sun’s candidate’s election campaign.
Sun faces up to 10 years in prison for his part in the scheme if convicted.
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