AsAm mayor resigns after admitting she was a spy for China

Once considered a 'rising star:' Eileen Wang resigns as mayor of Arcata, California.

The political landscape of the Chinese Americans of California's San Gabriel Valley was rocked Monday as Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, abruptly resigned, admitting she had been operating as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government.

In a stunning plea agreement unsealed in federal court, Wang confessed to a felony count of acting as an illegal foreign agent — a move that brings a swift and ignominious end to her short tenure as mayor. 

According to prosecutors, from 2020 to 2022, Wang was essentially moonlightng for Beijing, using a website called "U.S. News Center" to push pro-China propaganda directly into the feeds of Chinese-speaking residents in the San Gabriel Valley.

The evidence presented was as damning as it was cinematic. Text messages showed Wang reporting viewership metrics back to Chinese officials and editing articles at their behest. In one exchange that will likely haunt her legacy, she responded to a superior's praise by texting, "Thank you leader."

This isn't an isolated incident for the "City of Homes." Wang’s downfall is the latest domino to fall in a sprawling federal investigation that has already snagged her former fiancé, Yaoning "Mike" Sun, and high-level operative John Chen.

Sun was the bridge between Wang and Chen, a convicted operative who worked to cultivate Wang as a "new political star" for the Peoples Republican of China. Sun is currently serving a four-year prison sentence.

Wang, who just took the mayor's gavel this past April and was considered a rising star among local politicians, now faces up to 10 years in federal prison. Her resignation is effective immediately, leaving Arcadia to pick up the pieces of a trust shattered by international intrigue.

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US Navy petty officer sentenced to prison for giving military secrets to the PRC

Thomas Zhao will spend 27 months in prison for giving military intelligence to a foreign agent.

A US Navy petty officer was sentenced Monday to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,500 fine for giving sensitive U. military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in exchange for bribes.

According to court documents, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, aka Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, California, was arrested last summer and pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of conspiring with the intelligence officer and one count of receiving a bribe.

“Mr. Zhao betrayed his solemn oath to defend his country and endangered those who serve in the U.S. military,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today, he is being held to account for those crimes.”

Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a  security clearance, engaged in an illegal scheme to collect and transmit sensitive U.S. military information to the intelligence officer in violation of his official duties.

Between August 2021 and at least May 2023, Zhao received at least $14,866 in at least 14 separate bribe payments from the intelligence officer. In exchange for the illicit payments, Zhao secretly collected and transmitted to the PRC intelligence officer sensitive, information regarding US Navy operational security, military trainings and exercises, and critical infrastructure. Zhao entered restricted military and naval installations to collect and record this information

    RELATED: Gov't arrest alleged PRC agents harassing,threatening US citizens..

Zhao also revealed plans for a large-scale maritime training exercise in the Pacific theatre, operational orders and electrical diagrams and blueprints for a Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar system located in Okinawa, Japan.

He used sophisticated encrypted communication methods to transmit the information. He also destroyed evidence and concealed his relationship with the intelligence officer. Zhao’s conduct violated his official duties to protect such information and the oath he swore to protect the United States.

“Make no mistake, the PRC is engaged in an aggressive effort to undermine the national security of the U.S. and its partners,” said Executive Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “Zhao chose to betray the oath he took to our country and put others at risk by providing sensitive U.S. information to a PRC intelligence official. 

"The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly shown it will freely break any law or norm to achieve a perceived intelligence advantage. Today’s sentencing demonstrates, yet again, the inability of China’s Intelligence Services to prevent the FBI and our vital partners from apprehending and prosecuting the spies China recruits.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Two US sailors arrested for spying for the Peoples Republic of China

For a relatively measly amount of money, two US Navy sailors chose greed over loyalty to the United States when they allegedly sold military secrets to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

In two separate cases in the Southern and Central Districts of California, two US   Navy sailors,  Jinchao Wei and Wenheng Zhao were arrested this week for selling sensitive military information to the PRC, which federal authorities say is  known for its aggressive espionage activities.

“These individuals stand accused of violating the commitments they made to protect the United States and betraying the public trust, to the benefit of the PRC government,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

In the San Diego news conference held Thursday, Stacey Moy, the topFBI agent in San Diego, told reporters that he wanted to emphasize that “this is not and will never be an indictment of the Chinese people or ethnically Chinese Americans.”

"There is no bigger, multigenerational threat to the United States" than China, Moy continued. . Beijing "will stop at nothing to attack the United States in its strategic plan to become the world's sole superpower."

Both Wei and Zhao pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They will be remain in US custody until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8.

“These arrests are a reminder of the relentless, aggressive efforts of the People’s Republic of China to undermine our democracy and threaten those who defend it,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. 

US v. Jinchao Wei

A US Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, aka Patrick Wei, was arrested Aug. 2 on espionage charges as he arrived for work at Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of the Pacific Fleet. He was indicted for conspiracy to send national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the PRC.

The indictment, unsealed Thursday morning, alleges that Wei, was an active-duty sailor on the amphibious assault ship the U.S.S. Essex stationed at Naval Base San Diego. In his role as a machinist’s mate, Wei held a US security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems. Amphibious assault ships like the Essex resemble small aircraft carriers and allow the US military to project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities.

According to the indictment, in February 2022, Wei began communicating with an intelligence officer from the PRC who requested that Wei provide information about the U.S.S. Essex and other Navy ships. Specifically, the Chinese intelligence officer tasked Wei with passing him photos, videos and documents concerning U.S. Navy ships and their systems. The two agreed to hide their communications by deleting records of their conversations and using encrypted methods of communication.

At the request of the intelligence officer, between March 2022 and the present, Wei sent photographs and videos of the Essex, disclosed the locations of various Navy ships and described defensive weapons of the Essex. In exchange for this information, the intelligence officer paid Wei thousands of dollars over the course of the conspiracy.

The indictment further alleges that in June 2022, Wei sent the intelligence officer approximately 30 technical and mechanical manuals. These manuals contained export control warnings and detailed the operations of multiple systems aboard the Essex and similar ships, including power, steering, aircraft and deck elevators, as well as damage and casualty controls. The intelligence officer confirmed with Wei that at least 10 of those manuals were useful to him. For passage of those materials, the indictment alleges that Wei was paid $5,000.

In June 2022, the intelligence officer requested that Wei provide information about the number and training of US Marines during an upcoming international maritime warfare exercise. In response to this request, Wei sent multiple photographs of military equipment to the intelligence officer.

In August 2022, Wei sent an additional 26 technical and mechanical manuals related to the power structure and operation of the Essex and similar ships. The manuals contained warnings that this was technical data subject to export controls and that it was deemed “critical technology” by the US Navy.

The indictment further alleges that in October 2022, Wei sent a technical manual to the intelligence officer describing the layout and location of certain departments, including berthing quarters and weapons systems. Specifically, Wei sent a weapons control systems manual for the Essex and similar ships. This manual contained export-controlled data that could not be exported without a license from the U.S. government. The indictment alleges that Wei knowingly violated the International Traffic in Arms Regulations by transmitting this manual to the Chinese intelligence officer without obtaining a required license.

US NAVY

The USS Essex patrols the sea lanes in Southeast Asia.

The intelligence officer continued to request information in 2023, including information about the overhaul and upgrades to the Essex. Specifically, he requested blueprints, especially those related to modifications to the flight deck. Wei provided information related to the repairs the Essex was undergoing, as well as other mechanical problems with similar vessels.

During the alleged conspiracy, the intelligence officer instructed Wei to gather US military information that was not public and admonished him not to discuss their relationship and to destroy any evidence regarding the nature of their relationship and their activities.

“We have entrusted members of our military with tremendous responsibility and great faith,” said US Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “Our nation’s safety and security are in their hands. When a soldier or sailor chooses cash over country, and hands over national defense information in an ultimate act of betrayal, the United States will aggressively investigate and prosecute.”

US v. Wenheng Zhao

Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, aka Thomas Zhao, 26, of Monterey Park, Calif., was arrested following an indictment by a federal grand jury, charging him with receiving bribes in exchange for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to an individual posing as a maritime economic researcher, but who was actually an intelligence officer from the PRC.

The indictment alleges that Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a US security clearance, received bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for violating his official duties as a US sailor by, among other actions, disclosing non-public sensitive US military information.

Beginning in August 2021 and continuing through at least May 2023, at the Chinese intelligence officer’s direction, Zhao allegedly violated his official duties to protect sensitive military information by surreptitiously recording, and then transmitting to the intelligence officer, U.S. military information, photographs and videos. According to the indictment, the Chinese intelligence officer told Zhao that the intelligence officer was a maritime economic researcher seeking the information for investment decisions.

In exchange for bribes, Zhao allegedly sent the Chinese military officer non-public and controlled operational plans for a large-scale US military exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region, which detailed the specific location and timing of Naval force movements, amphibious landings, maritime operations and logistics support.

The indictment further alleges that in exchange for bribes, Zhao also photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.

The intelligence officer allegedly directed Zhao to conceal their relationship and to destroy evidence of the unlawful and corrupt scheme.

In exchange for the sensitive information Zhao provided – information Zhao accessed as a result of his position within the US Navy – the Chinese intelligence officer paid Zhao approximately $14,866, the indictment alleges.

“By sending this sensitive military information to an intelligence officer employed by a hostile foreign state, the defendant betrayed his sacred oath to protect our country and uphold the Constitution,” said US Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. 

If convicted, Zhao faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The allegations and arrests did not surprise Tai Ming Cheung, a UC San Diego scholar, who was interviewed by the San Diego Union-Tribune. “This is not surprising given that the U.S. and China are engaged in a very intense struggle over power, especially in the military domain,” said Cheung, director of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.

Tensions have grown between the US and the PRC as the two superpowers jockey for influence in Asia. The US government and business interests treat Taiwan, a province of China, as a separate nation in business dealings and military operations. 

In the West Philippine Sea, China has taken over some islands just miles off the Philippines coast and turned them into military installations. An international court has ruled in favor of the Philippines but the PRC has chosen to ignore the court. Much of Asia's sea traffic sails through these waters.

In both potential flashpoints, the PRC and the US have tested and harassed each other in several incidents in the air and on the sea. Experts fear an overzealous pilot or Navy captain or a miscalculation could easily escalate the two nations into a confrontation.

“The Chinese spend a lot of their efforts getting as much intelligence as they can, and the Navy and Marines are very much part of that mix,” Cheung told the San Diego newspaper. “Both sides need to know what the other side’s militaries are doing at any moment in time.”

The espionage strategy of the PRC was exposed this year upon the discovery and downing of a Chinese spy balloon floating across the US earlier this year sparked alarm bells in the US as media and the military tracked its path.

In addition, this year the FBI arrested several individuals (FYI: and here) in the US who have been accused of harassing and threatening US residents of Chinese descent for their alleged anti-PRC and anti-Chinese Communist Party views and activities.

FBI director Christopher A. Wray, carefully distinguishing the PRC espionage efforts and the Chinese American community, warned Congress earlier this year, “There’s no country that presents a more significant threat to our innovation, our ideas our economic security, our national security than the Chinese government.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

Two suspects arrested in Beijing-directed targeting of Falun Gong in the US

Chinese Americans demonstrate against the Peoples Republic of China.

A federal court in the Southern District of New York Friday, May 26, unsealed a complaint charging two California men with acting and conspiring to act as unregistered agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), conspiring to bribe and bribing a government official, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the complaint, John Chen, aka Chen Jun, 70, a Los Angeles resident and former citizen of the PRC, and Lin Feng, a Los Angeles resident and PRC citizen, allegedly participated in a PRC government-directed scheme targeting US-based practitioners of Falun Gong — a spiritual practice banned in the PRC. 

As the contents of the complaint were being revealed in New York, the two suspects were arrested the same day in Los Angeles.

“The Chinese government has yet again attempted, and failed, to target critics of the PRC here in the United States,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland at the press event. Their intended target were the US followers of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong, based broadly around meditation, was banned by China in 1999 after 10,000 members appeared at the central leadership compound in Beijing in silent protest. The group has called for people to renounce the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

The PRC government has designated the Falun Gong as one of the “five poisons,” or one of the top five threats to its rule. In China, Falun Gong adherents face a range of repressive and punitive measures from the PRC government, including imprisonment and torture.

 “We allege the defendants in this case attempted to bribe someone they thought was an IRS agent in order to further the Chinese government’s campaign of transnational repression in the United States. But the individual they attempted to bribe was in fact an undercover law enforcement agent, and both defendants were arrested this morning (May 26). 

“The Department of Justice continues to expose the Chinese government’s brazen attempts to perpetrate transnational repression, this time through attempted bribery,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “As highlighted by today’s arrests and charges of conspiracy, bribery, and money laundering, we will not tolerate efforts by the PRC or any foreign government to intimidate, harass, or undermine the rights and freedoms enjoyed by all who live in the United States.”

“China’s government has once again shown its disregard for the rule of law and international norms,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI will not tolerate CCP repression — its efforts to threaten, harass, and intimidate people — here in the United States. We will continue to confront the Chinese government’s efforts to violate our laws and repress the rights and freedoms of people in our country.”

“John Chen and Lin Feng allegedly waged a campaign at the behest of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to influence a U.S. Government official in order to further the PRC Government’s repression of practitioners of Falun Gong,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Efforts to manipulate and use the arms of the U.S. Government to carry out the PRC Government’s autocratic aims are as shocking as they are insidious. My office will work vigorously to protect against malign foreign influences.”

The complaint alleges that from at least approximately January 2023 to May 2023, at the direction of the PRC government,via an identified PRC government official (PRC Official-1), tChen and Feng worked too further the PRC government’s campaign to repress and harass Falun Gong practitioners in the US. 

As part of the PRC government’s campaign against the Falun Gong, Chen and Feng allegedly engaged in a scheme to manipulate the IRS’s Whistleblower Program in an effort to strip the tax-exempt status of an entity run and maintained by Falun Gong practitioners (Entity-1). 

After Chen filed a defective whistleblower complaint with the IRS (the Chen Whistleblower Complaint), Chen and Feng paid $5,000 in cash bribes, and promised to pay substantially more, to an undercover agents posing as an IRS agent,

Neither Chen nor Feng notified the Attorney General that they were acting as agents of the PRC government in the United States which they would be required to do.

In the course of the scheme, Chen, on a recorded call, explicitly noted that the purpose of paying these bribes, which were directed and funded by the PRC government, was to carry out the PRC government’s aim of “toppl[ing] . . . the Falun Gong.” 

During a call intercepted pursuant to a judicially authorized wiretap, Chen and Feng discussed receiving “direction” on the bribery scheme from PRC Official-1, deleting instructions received from PRC Official-1 in order to evade detection, and “alert[ing]” and “sound[ing] the alarm” to PRC Official-1 if Chen and Feng’s meetings to bribe Agent-1 did not go as planned. 

Chen and Feng also discussed that PRC Official-1 was the PRC Government official “in charge” of the bribery scheme targeting the Falun Gong.

As part of this scheme, Chen and Feng allegedly met with the undercover agent in Newburgh, New York, on May 14. During the meeting, Chen gave the fake IRS official a $1,000 cash bribe as an initial, partial bribe payment. Chen further offered to pay the undercover agent a total of $50,000 for opening an audit of Entity-1, as well as 60% of any whistleblower award from the IRS if the Chen Whistleblower Complaint were successful. 

On May 18, Feng paid the undercover agent posting as an IRS employee a $4,000 cash bribe at John F. Kennedy International Airport as an additional partial bribe payment in furtherance of the scheme. Chen allegedly obtained funding from the PRC government to make bribe payments during his trips to the PRC in the course of the scheme.

Chen and Feng are each charged with:

1. one count of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General and to bribe a public official, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison;
2. one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; 
3. one count of bribing a public official, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; and (4) one count of conspiring to commit international money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The arrests of the two suspected foreign agents in California is the latest in a focus of on suspected PRC agents in the US who have been engaged in alleged activities against US residents. Last month federal authorities arrested two men in New York City who have been charged with harassing and threatening New York residents of Chinese descent. 

“No other nation poses as severe a threat to the democratic values of the United States as the government of the People’s Republic of China,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “The FBI will not stand by as the PRC attempts to weaponize our institutions and programs and attack the rights of those on US soil. Any attempt to repress or harass individuals runs directly counter to the ideals our nation was founded upon, and it simply will not be tolerated.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.