By FAPA
USA / CHINA / TAIWAN – The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) strongly condemns the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) ongoing political infiltration into and espionage efforts within the US government institutions as exposed by the indictment of Linda Sun, a former aide to two New York governors who acted as an unregistered foreign agent for the PRC for more than a decade. Sun covertly advanced China’s interests and undermined US-Taiwan relations. The federal indictment illustrates countless examples of Sun blocking engagement between New York State and Taiwan officials and Taiwanese Americans alike while manipulating government messaging to benefit the PRC and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the expense of US national security.
FAPA calls on federal, state, and local governments across the country to investigate Chinese influence operations and take decisive actions to stop further infiltration by the PRC. The Linda Sun case exemplifies a broader, long-standing strategy by the CCP’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), which has been covertly targeting US political systems to erode and oppose support for Taiwan.
The UFWD’s mission is to co-opt influential individuals and organizations in foreign countries including the US, to advance the CCP’s and the PRC’s interests. In Sun’s case, her activities directly blocked initiatives promoting US-Taiwan relations, including FAPA’s longstanding efforts to secure proclamations for Taiwanese American Heritage Week (TAHW).
For over two decades, FAPA and its 44 chapters across the US have sought these TAHW proclamations to honor the contributions that Taiwanese Americans have made to the diversity and prosperity of American society. Despite being a state with one of the largest populations of Taiwanese Americans and Taiwanese diaspora in the country, New York State has consistently rejected our requests. It has now become clear that Sun’s actions in her capacity as a PRC foreign agent directly undermined FAPA’s advocacy efforts and negatively impacted Taiwanese American representation in New York.
UFWD influence at the state level is particularly concerning for US national security. Local governments often lack the resources to detect and counter sophisticated foreign influence operations. This leaves them vulnerable to CCP manipulation, potentially resulting in policies that undermine national unity and weaken US positions on global geopolitical issues. Such infiltration allows the CCP to spread disinformation, manipulate public opinion, and suppress democratic values under the guise of cultural or diplomatic exchanges.
FAPA urges elected officials across the US to condemn the CCP’s political infiltration attempts. Elected officials must not enable the CCP to coopt public discourse regarding prejudice against Asian Americans to further China’s political agenda. It is critical to differentiate between genuine national security threats posed by the CCP and anti-Asian hate. Allowing anti-Asian hate concerns to shield CCP activities from scrutiny is naïve and dangerous. US leaders must stand firm against the CCP’s infiltration efforts, recognizing that safeguarding democratic values and national security must come first.
FAPA president Su-Mei Kao, reacts: “The allegations against Linda Sun show that the Chinese government had been able to influence and manipulate the New York State government at the highest level for many years to illegally advance PRC and CCP interests and thwart US-Taiwan relations. Sun’s over decade-long employment by the state government represents an alarming security failure, and it certainly was not just a single, isolated case. China has sent and recruited spies not just in New York or the US, but all around the world. We commend the court for taking the first steps in holding accountable those who seek to undermine our democratic values.”
Dr Kao continues: “FAPA applauds the Congressional House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and its government-wide investigation into the CCP’s ongoing efforts to target, influence and infiltrate every sector and community in the United States. However, public officials at all levels, including state and local, must also take concrete actions to proactively investigate, prevent, and stop UFWD’s political infiltration activities and espionage efforts undertaken by Chinese foreign missions and agents.”
In November 2023, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its annual report. Chapter 2, Section 2, China’s United Front and Propaganda Work provides an in-depth analysis of China’s global influence operations and the national security threats posted by these operations.
