By Another Democrat has been caught getting cozy with China. California Treasurer Fiona Ma, the leading Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in 2026, accepted more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from donors with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese intelligence-linked organizations, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of public records.
The donations are drawing new scrutiny after federal recently prosecutors charged Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang with acting in the United States as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China. Wang, who contributed $2,500 to Ma’s campaign in September 2022, has agreed to plead guilty to the felony count, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, according to the Justice Department.
Ma had endorsed Wang’s mayoral campaign the previous month and had appeared with her at multiple events in California. Neither Ma nor Wang responded to requests for comment.
Federal prosecutors said Wang, 58, was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 and later became mayor through the city’s rotating selection process. According to her plea agreement, Wang worked from late 2020 through 2022 with Yaoning “Mike” Sun, who is now serving a four-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal agent of China. Prosecutors said Wang and Sun operated U.S. News Center, a website that presented itself as a local Chinese American news outlet while publishing pro-Beijing material at the direction of Chinese government officials.
The case underscores a broader concern among federal authorities and China analysts: Beijing’s influence operations often operate not through one dramatic act, but through community groups, local political networks, diaspora organizations, business associations, and access to state and municipal officials.
Ma, who is serving her second term as California treasurer, has had extensive interactions with Chinese officials. She has met with representatives of the Chinese government and the United Front Work Department, an entity described by U.S. authorities as blending influence operations and intelligence activities, on at least 30 occasions since 1999.
“This is how China seeks to co-opt U.S. lawmakers. It ‘floods the zone’ with United Front community groups to entangle American politicians in meetings, under the guise of legitimate community outreach and multiculturalism,” said Sam Cooper, an investigative reporter and author of “Wilful Blindness: How A Network Of Narcos, Tycoons and CCP Agents Infiltrated The West.” “If the politician you are investigating is meeting frequently with groups confirmed to fall within that classification and receiving donations from them, that constitutes a grave concern for American democracy.”
Those concerns are not limited to California. A 2024 New Conservative Post report noted similar scrutiny surrounding Democratic officials and figures accused of ties to Chinese influence networks, including former New York government aide Linda Sun, who prosecutors alleged acted to benefit the Chinese government while working in state government. The report also cited concerns about Chinese-linked organizations’ access to U.S. political leaders and community events.
The Ma investigation also recalls the controversy surrounding Rep. Eric Swalwell, another California Democrat, and Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who cultivated relationships with U.S. politicians before leaving the country in 2015. Federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns and briefed Congress about Fang that year, and Swalwell has said he cut off contact with her after receiving the FBI briefing. Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy later cited Swalwell’s ties to Fang as one reason for blocking him from the House Intelligence Committee, arguing that lawmakers with access to classified material should be held to a higher standard.
Ma’s connections drew additional attention after Politico reported in April 2026 that she had offered to assist students from the Pegasus California School in obtaining U.S. internships and jobs. The school, which enrolls Chinese nationals, was founded by the chair of Ma’s campaign finance committee and has faced scrutiny over allegations that it improperly issued California high school diplomas through a partnership with a local district.
Ma’s campaigns raised just over $2 million from all sources in 2025. Among her donors were several individuals and entities linked to the United Front system.
Simon Pang, co-founder of Royal Business Bank, has given $12,500 to Ma since 2018. Pang serves as the Southern California coordinator for the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, a UFWD-affiliated group that U.S. counterintelligence officials have warned seeks to influence state and local leaders. Ma and Pang have appeared together at multiple events, including a 2023 Chinese New Year celebration hosted by the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles.
Other contributions totaling tens of thousands of dollars came from individuals who traveled with Pang to the CPAFFC’s Beijing headquarters in 2016.
Ma’s 2022 reelection campaign also received $1,000 from Xuan Guojun, who has held positions in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region People’s Congress and various UFWD-linked groups. A California-based nonprofit co-chaired by Xuan, the U.S.-Zhejiang General Chamber of Commerce, donated an additional $2,750. The organization’s co-chair includes a supervisor from China’s Ministry of Public Security, sometimes referred to as “China’s FBI.”
Xuan was arrested in May 2025 on allegations related to the abuse of 21 children in connection with an apparent surrogacy arrangement, though no charges had been filed at the time of the investigation.
Campaign records further show Ma’s lieutenant governor bid received $13,600 from Eric Zhang & Associates LLP. The firm’s founder hosted a fundraiser for Ma in January 2024. The manager of the company’s Las Vegas office, Barry Zhang, previously served as registered agent for Prestige Biotech Inc., a company linked to alleged illegal biolabs discovered in California and Nevada. A congressional investigation noted connections between the company’s accountant, identified as Barry Zhang, and individuals tied to CCP leadership and the UFWD.
Additional donors include Florence Fang, an overseas advisor to the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, who contributed $5,750 since 2004. Fang’s family previously owned AsianWeek magazine, where Ma once worked as a columnist. Tina Yao, executive director of a provincial branch of the China Overseas Friendship Association, has given $8,805. Ma has presented commendations to Yao for her leadership of another California nonprofit.
Venture capital firm Oriza Ventures, whose parent company is a Suzhou municipal government investment vehicle supporting China’s military-civil fusion strategy, contributed $12,000 to Ma’s current campaign.
Former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Cella criticized such relationships, stating: “It is disgraceful to see the willful entanglements with CCP-tied entities by government and business elites that are blinded by the allure of the promise of money and jobs, particularly since they are ignoring the directives and warnings by our national security and intelligence agencies.”
Cooper warned that groups like ACFROC and COFA have been linked to intelligence and espionage activities on U.S. soil. He noted that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has expanded the UFWD to leverage diaspora organizations.
“The assigned task of those community group members is to surround and cultivate elected officials. In the more aggressive operations, my assessment is that the objective extends to ensnaring those officials in financial corruption,” Cooper said. “When a politician accepts an award, a donation, or a speaking platform connected to organizations operating under the umbrella of these friendship and trade groups, a Chinese intelligence officer is, in my assessment, very likely involved in an influence operation designed to subvert American democracy. American voters deserve to know who funds and organizes the access events their elected representatives attend.”
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