BANGKOK (AP) — New York prosecutors’ decision this week to charge a former aide to New York’s governor with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government is raising concerns about Chinese efforts to influence U.S. politics.
Linda Sun, who has held numerous positions in New York state government, including acting chief of staff to Governor Kathy Hawkle, is accused of promoting Chinese interests at state events, including blocking a meeting between a Taiwanese representative and the governor, in exchange for millions of dollars in financial benefits.
Read more: Two former aides to New York governor accused of working as agents of Chinese government
Sun’s arrest on Tuesday is the latest, and perhaps the most high-profile, in a series of prosecutions the U.S. Department of Justice has brought in recent years to root out Beijing’s operatives on U.S. territory.
While previous cases have involved prosecuting suspected Chinese spies for reporting on and surveilling dissidents critical of the Communist party, Tuesday’s incident appears to show how China is seeking to directly influence U.S. politics in line with its own interests, even at the local level.
Why state level?
China believes it is important to build state-level relationships with U.S. officials and has always done so.
While relations between the United States and China have become increasingly tense, the two countries fostered extensive regional ties in the 2010s, with U.S. governors frequently visiting China to boost trade and cultural exchanges.
In recent years, the situation has undergone a complete 180-degree turn as the relationship between the U.S. government and China has become increasingly conflictual and a tougher stance toward China has become a bipartisan consensus. The White House and Congress have imposed high tariffs on Chinese products and restricted the export of high-tech products to China.
Some states are passing bills to actively ban the Chinese presence. Georgia, Florida and Alabama are among the states that have banned Chinese “proxies” from purchasing real estate.
Exercising influence at the state level “is becoming more important as relations at the federal level deteriorate,” said Marijke Ohlberg, a senior fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund who studies China. “Something is better than nothing.”
How is Beijing cultivating its influence overseas?
The Chinese Communist Party has an organization called the United Front that specializes in overseas activities. Under the control of the United Front are many organizations that engage with overseas Chinese under the guise of social and business organizations. One of the best-known of these organizations is the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, which itself oversees several smaller organizations.
These organisations aim to grow their membership overseas and engage with the Chinese diaspora, and have chapters all over the world, from Africa to Southeast Asia to North America.
Willy Lam, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, said the Chinese government has a long history of targeting major U.S. cities and states with large Chinese populations, such as New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and that Beijing’s operatives have worked with well-established and “well-established” associations and trade groups for overseas Chinese.
Lin said the system would provide funding to local organisations to carry out collaborative activities with Beijing, while saving Beijing a lot of the work on the ground.
Chinese state media said Sun was believed to be linked to Shi Qianping, a self-described standing committee member of the National Federation of Overseas Chinese Returnees. Shi also served as president of the United Chinese Entrepreneurs of the United States, according to Xinhua.
According to the group, Sun also had contact with local chapters of returned Chinese organizations in his hometown of Jiangsu province and elsewhere.
In addition to these groups, there are also growing concerns about Chinese police stations overseas that have been set up without the knowledge of the countries in which they operate: Last year, the New York Police Department arrested two men on suspicion of setting up secret police stations for local Chinese police agencies.
What does Beijing want?
Sun’s case, which at first glance seems like material for a spy movie, shows that China is interested in cultivating influence at a subtle level, for example by spreading messages that are in line with Beijing’s views.
Prosecutors said Sun sought input from Chinese officials about a video Ho Chol filmed for a Lunar New Year celebration while he was lieutenant governor. Prosecutors said Sun specifically prohibited Ho Chol from mentioning China’s human rights issues in the video. Sun also allegedly prevented Taiwanese government representatives from meeting with New York state officials. China claims Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, as part of its territory and considers any interaction between Taiwanese government representatives and other governments an infringement of its sovereignty.
President Xi Jinping’s speeches and party documents make clear that one of the guiding principles of the party’s overseas work is to rally overseas Chinese to the party’s goals, including encouraging them to “actively participate in and support” the cause of modernizing and peaceful reunifying the motherland.
The Chinese government also intends to exploit domestic issues in the United States, such as violence against Asian Americans, to spread its message. Sun has claimed to speak for the Asian American community.
“The Chinese government likes to claim to represent all ethnic Chinese overseas,” said Audrey Wong, a Jeane Kirkpatrick fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who said the Chinese government sometimes blurs the line between legitimate cultural and community groups and influence operations.
Should countries cut ties with Chinese provinces?
China is often able to set the agenda when it comes to engagement at the local level. “There has been a significant imbalance in terms of resources on the Chinese side and the U.S. side,” Ohlberg said. For example, the city of Shanghai may have hundreds of staff dedicated to international engagement, while a U.S. state may only have a handful.
“We need more strategic thinking, more resources and more knowledge on this matter, and once we have that, a decision can be made,” she said.
Wong added that rather than relying on one person as a local liaison, as was the case with Sun, local governments should reach out to Asian communities and “work with legitimate Asian American organizations to really build infrastructure at the community level.”
Associated Press writer Didi Tan in Washington contributed to this report.