Chinese foreign agent cultivated romantic relationship with US politician, jailed 4 years

A California man, Sun Yaoning, was sentenced to four years' jail for acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government while working as a campaign adviser for a politician in Los Angeles.

According to the Los Angeles Times (LA Times), the politician in question is Eileen Wang, who is currently a council member of the city of Arcadia.

Sun also became involved in a romantic relationship with Wang.

What accused did

The Department of Justice (DOJ) described Sun as having received and executed "taskings from Chinese government officials".

The Assistant Attorney General for National Security also said he disseminated Chinese propaganda and surveilled groups in the United States that China viewed as "threatening its interests as part of a campaign of intimidation".

According to the LA Times, during his time as Wang's political consultant in 2022, Sun was instructed to make a list of U.S. politicians she was familiar with, saying this would help elevate her status in China, according to the criminal complaint.

According to the DOJ, Sun also drafted a report for Chinese officials to solicit additional money and taskings from the government.

In it, he said he had worked in the U.S. to lead "delegations of U.S. dignitaries and cultural workers to China", “persist in resisting any hostile forces that undermine the friendship of U.S.-China relations, and Chinese secessionist forces”, and how during the 2022 mid-term elections, he had orchestrated and organised his team to win the election for an individual, believed to be Wang, who was a "new political star".

Sun also kept track of the then-president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, when she visited the U.S. in 2023.

In a separate 2025 article, the LA Times cited Wang as confirming the romantic relationship, but insisted that they were just friends at that point in time.

She said they had ended their relationship eight months before he was charged.

Image from DOJ and Wang/FB