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Linda Sun is just the latest member of the Chinese diaspora whom Beijing is accused of recruiting to influence Western democracies.
Sept. 16, 2024, 12:01 a.m. ET
A prominent lawyer in Britain, accused of trying to advance Beijing’s interests in Parliament.
An aide to a far-right politician in Germany, suspected of passing information about the inner workings of the European Parliament to China.
A politician in Canada, accused of receiving help from the Chinese Consulate organizing busloads of international students from China to vote for him in party elections.
Even before Linda Sun, a former senior aide in the New York governor’s office, was charged this month with using her position to benefit the Chinese government, suspected cases of Chinese foreign meddling had been on the rise in Western democracies.
Allegations of Chinese political interference have also surfaced in Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium and the Netherlands in recent years.
The clandestine activity usually follows a pattern, analysts said. China recruits members of Chinese diaspora communities to infiltrate halls of power, or to silence Chinese dissidents and other critics of Beijing.
Covert Chinese operations abroad have long centered on seizing industrial secrets and technology in sensitive sectors such as the military, aviation or telecommunications, with the aim of trying to erode the United States’ edge.
