南加政治顾问孙耀宁被捕：被控充当中国政府非法代理人
美国司法部12月19日宣布，居住在加利福尼亚州圣贝纳迪诺县的孙耀宁（Yaoning "Mike" Sun，64岁）当天在加州被捕。一份12月17日提交、19日上午解封的刑事诉状指控他充当中国政府的非法代理人；他当天在加州中区联邦法院首次出庭。诉状只是指控，孙耀宁在被法庭证明有罪之前依法被推定无罪。
据诉状，孙耀宁曾担任一名南加州政界人士（诉状中称为「个人1」）的竞选经理与亲信，该人士在2022年竞选地方公职并当选某市市议员。竞选期间，孙耀宁与陈军（Chen Jun）就协助「个人1」当选保持沟通；陈军曾与中国政府官员讨论中国如何「影响」美国地方政界人士、特别是台湾议题。2022年11月「个人1」当选后不久，陈军指示孙耀宁撰写一份关于这次选举的报告并送交中国政府官员，对方回复积极并表示感谢。
诉状还称，当选约一个月后，陈军在 Rowland Heights 一家餐厅安排了一场含孙耀宁等人在内的午餐，陈军向中国官员形容这是「核心成员午餐」，会后称与会者同意成立一个「美中友好促进协会」；「个人1」没有出席这场午餐，但陈军在给中国官员的通讯中称其属于「致力于我们的基本团队」。2023年初，陈军又指示孙耀宁再写一份报告，描述两人「培养并协助个人1成功」。
2023年2月，孙耀宁向陈军转发一份提案，建议参加在华盛顿举行的美国独立日游行以对抗「反华势力」，并提议中国政府提供80,000美元预算支持两人在美国的活动。在两人讨论赴华会见「领导层」、陈军指示孙耀宁安排与中国驻洛杉矶总领事会面之后，孙耀宁与「个人1」于2023年8月一同前往中国。
孙耀宁另被控与陈军共谋；陈军已于上月因贿赂与充当中国政府非法代理人被判监禁（其后公布为20个月）。如罪名成立，孙耀宁充当外国政府非法代理人一项最高面临10年监禁，共谋危害美国一项最高面临5年监禁，最终刑期由联邦地区法官量刑时依法裁定。本案由 FBI 调查，承办检察官为加州中区助理联邦检察官 David Ryan 与 Amanda Elbogen，司法部国家安全司审判律师 Garrett Coyle 协助。案号 2:24-cr-00777-RGK。（来源：美国司法部）
California Political Operative Yaoning 'Mike' Sun Arrested on Charges of Acting as an Illegal Agent of China
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on December 19 that Yaoning "Mike" Sun, 64, a resident of San Bernardino County, California, was arrested that day in California. A criminal complaint filed December 17 and unsealed that morning charges Sun with acting as an illegal agent of the People's Republic of China (PRC) while serving as the campaign manager for a political candidate who was elected in 2022 to the city council of a California city. Sun was expected to make his initial appearance that afternoon in the Central District of California. A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and Sun is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
According to the complaint, Sun served as the campaign manager and close personal confidante for a Southern California politician, referred to as Individual 1, who ran for local elected office in 2022. During the campaign, Sun communicated with Chen Jun regarding his efforts to get Individual 1 elected. Chen allegedly discussed with Chinese government officials how the PRC could "influence" local politicians in the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan. In November 2022, shortly after Individual 1 was elected, Chen instructed Sun to prepare a report on the election that was sent to Chinese government officials, who responded positively and expressed thanks, according to the complaint.
About a month after the election, Chen arranged a lunch at a restaurant in Rowland Heights with Sun and others, a gathering Chen described to a PRC official as a "core member lunch," the complaint alleges. Participants agreed to establish a "US-China Friendship Promotional Association." Individual 1 did not attend the meeting, but Chen identified Individual 1 as part of "the basic team dedicated for us" in a communication to a Chinese government official. In early 2023, Chen instructed Sun to write another report for Chinese officials describing Sun and Chen "cultivating and assisting Individual 1's success."
In February 2023, Sun forwarded to Chen a proposal to combat "anti-China forces" by participating in a U.S. Independence Day parade in Washington, D.C., proposing that the PRC government provide an $80,000 budget to support their efforts in the United States, according to the complaint. After the two discussed a planned trip to China to meet with "leadership," and after Chen directed Sun to schedule a meeting with the Chinese consul general in Los Angeles, Sun and Individual 1 traveled to China in August 2023.
Sun is also charged with conspiring with Chen Jun, who was sentenced to prison the previous month for bribery and acting as an illegal agent of the PRC government. If convicted, Sun faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and five years for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States; any sentence would be determined by a federal district court judge. The FBI is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ryan and Amanda Elbogen for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Case No. 2:24-cr-00777-RGK. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
来源：美国司法部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于洛杉矶市中心第一街的美国联邦法院大楼（First Street Courthouse），加州中区联邦地区法院所在地，孙耀宁在此首次出庭。Daniel L. Lu 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The First Street United States Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, home of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, where Yaoning Sun made his initial appearance. Photo by Daniel L. Lu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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