Yaoning “Mike” Sun, the former fiancé of Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison after admitting he acted as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government, produced pro-Communist Chinese content, and carried out directives from officials in Beijing.
Although Wang previously described Sun as her fiancé, she has since distanced herself from him as his legal troubles unfolded. Authorities have not accused Wang of any misconduct related to the case, and she is not under investigation, reports National Review.
In October 2025, Sun pleaded guilty to a single count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. “For years, Sun received and executed taskings from Chinese government officials, distorted our public discourse by disseminating Chinese propaganda, and surveilled groups in the United States that China viewed as threatening its interests as part of a campaign of intimidation,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors said that between at least 2022 and 2024, Sun operated on behalf of the People’s Republic of China without registering with the U.S. attorney general, as required by law.
During that period, Sun worked to support the election of an unnamed individual, identified in court documents as “Individual 1,” to a city council position in an undisclosed municipality. According to court filings, Sun and “Individual 1” collaborated — at the direction of Chinese officials — to draft and circulate pro-PRC messaging within the United States.
Wang publicly praised Sun during a December 2022 city council meeting. “To my fiancé, Mike Sun, who walked streets with me every single day, who is a real leader of me,” Wang said at the time, according to CBS News.
After charges were filed, Wang disputed the nature of their relationship. “No. 1, he’s not my fiancé,” Wang said in September 2025. “Whoever wants to say he’s my former fiancé, please prove it.”
According to the Department of Justice, Sun also monitored the movements of Tsai Ing-wen during her April 2023 visit to Southern California and passed the information he gathered to Chinese officials.
Prosecutors said Sun’s activities extended beyond surveillance. At one point, he sought $80,000 to organize a pro-PRC rally in Washington, D.C., on the Fourth of July. He also raised concerns with Chinese officials about movements related to independence for Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang, and remained in contact with a consulate official in Los Angeles regarding Taiwanese activities in Southern California.
“His conduct represents a brazen violation of our national sovereignty,” Eisenburg said. “This sentence reflects our commitment to prosecuting those who would extend the authoritarian reach of the Chinese government on U.S. soil.”
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