“ccording to her plea agreement, from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, worked at the direction and control of PRC government officials and coordinated with U.S.-based individuals to promote the PRC’s interests by, among other things, promoting pro-PRC propaganda in the United States. Sun is serving a four-year federal prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
Wang and Sun worked together to operate U.S. News Center, a website that purported to be a news source for the local Chinese American community. Wang and Sun received and executed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website.
For example, in June 2021, a PRC official contacted Wang and other individuals via the WeChat encrypted messaging application with pre-written news articles, including a PRC official-written essay in the Los Angeles Times that stated: “China’s Stance on the Xinjiang Issue – There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production. Spreading such rumor to do defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development[.]”
Minutes later, Wang posted the article on her own website and responded to the PRC official with a link to the article on her website. The others in the group chat did the same. The PRC official responded: “So fast, thank you everyone.”
“
pjc50 2 hours ago [-]
Four years in prison just for posting propaganda on behalf of other countries? If that was evenly enforced a whole lot of people would be in trouble.
ben_w 50 minutes ago [-]
Indeed. I may have to remember this for the next time someone says America's freedom of speech means people don't go to jail just for posting stuff on the internet.
kjkjadksj 2 hours ago [-]
The PRC penning stories directly into the Los Angeles Times seems like an even bigger story than this…
razakel 1 hours ago [-]
It's a letter to the editor from the Chinese consul in response to an editorial.
killingtime74 2 hours ago [-]
Why not add "Pleads guilty" to the title. Or drop "Pleads" and just use the actual article title.
l23k4 2 hours ago [-]
>the WeChat encrypted messaging application
That's certainly a way to describe WeChat.
Rendered at 08:04:47 GMT+0000 (UTC) with Wasmer Edge.
Wang and Sun worked together to operate U.S. News Center, a website that purported to be a news source for the local Chinese American community. Wang and Sun received and executed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website.
For example, in June 2021, a PRC official contacted Wang and other individuals via the WeChat encrypted messaging application with pre-written news articles, including a PRC official-written essay in the Los Angeles Times that stated: “China’s Stance on the Xinjiang Issue – There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production. Spreading such rumor to do defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development[.]”
Minutes later, Wang posted the article on her own website and responded to the PRC official with a link to the article on her website. The others in the group chat did the same. The PRC official responded: “So fast, thank you everyone.” “
That's certainly a way to describe WeChat.