Family linked to alleged Chinese spy donated $4.4m to Newsom, other California politicians; who is Fang Fang?

A California family that has donated more than $4.4 million to political causes, including campaigns linked to Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris, is facing scrutiny over its alleged links to Chinese government officials and suspected Chinese spy Fang Fang, according to a CBS News report.

A prolific political donor, the Yin family reportedly built its wealth through McDonald's franchises in California.

Now, files released by FBI mention a past professional association between family patriarch Chei Chen Yin, known as C C Yin, and Fang, also known as Christine Fang.

The FBI files describe Fang as a point of contact for the Asian Pacific American Public Affairs (APAPA), an organisation founded by C C Yin and his brother Henry Yin.

Yin family donated more than $4.4 million

According to California state and Federal Election Commission records cited by CBS News, the Yin family has donated nearly $3 million to state-level political causes and another $1.455 million to federal campaigns, either directly or through C C Yin's McDonald's franchise business.

The donations include $364,817 to campaigns supporting Newsom, $80,000 to his 2019 inauguration committee and $50,000 to a nonprofit at Newsom's direction.

The family also donated $221,700 to California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis' campaigns between 2018 and 2025, while Harris' campaigns received $214,300 between 2019 and 2024. Former California state Treasurer John Chiang's campaigns received $115,680, the report said.

C C Yin, 89, is known in Northern California for his philanthropy and for building a successful franchise business after arriving in the US from China in the 1960s.

He and Henry Yin founded APAPA, which says its work includes helping young people and community members develop leadership skills, understand government and participate in democracy.

C C Yin told CBS News that he created the organisation to help community members participate in American civic life.

FBI files point to Fang connection

Fang was linked to former California congressman Eric Swalwell, with whom she had a sexual relationship before fleeing to China in 2015.

FBI files declassified by the White House in August include interviews with Swalwell from 2015 and 2016. In those interviews, Swalwell identified Fang as his point of contact for APAPA and said a senior APAPA official had directed him to her.

The official's name is redacted in the files, but two sources familiar with the material told CBS News that the person was C C Yin.

Fang also appeared alongside C C Yin and Henry Yin at an APAPA event in 2013, according to a photograph posted on Facebook by a City of Cupertino official.

APAPA president Kris Concepcion told CBS News that the organisation's current leadership was not aware of Fang ever holding an official role with the national organisation.

Henry Yin's reported China meetings

CBS News also reported that Henry Yin attended 10 events in China hosted by Chinese government officials and the United Front since 2013, citing Chinese-language media reports.

The United Front published accounts of some of his meetings, including a 2015 visit to Baoshan in Yunnan province, where Yin reportedly met officials from the Municipal Party Committee United Front Work Department.

One Chinese government report described Yin as a designated contact for California-China economic, trade, scientific and technological interaction.

Another 2013 report said Yin had been offered a position as "Overseas Talent Recruitment Adviser for Sichuan Province".

A 2023 United Front statement said a delegation of Chinese entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley, including Henry Yin, visited Chengdu and sought to strengthen investment cooperation between the city and Silicon Valley.

Henry Yin described his activities to the East Bay Times in 2016 as networking aimed at strengthening US-China business relations.

National security experts told CBS News that such relationships can form part of Chinese influence operations, but they also cautioned that the activities described could have legitimate business or diplomatic purposes.

Links to Newsom, Khanna

The Yin family's political and China-related connections have also intersected with senior California politicians.

C C Yin was credited by an organisation linked to him with helping arrange Newsom's 2023 visit to China. Henry Yin accompanied Newsom as an adviser during the October 2023 trip, when the governor met Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the report.

Henry Yin has also acted as an adviser to California Congressman Ro Khanna, who is the ranking member of the House Select Committee on the CCP.

C C Yin and Henry Yin have personally donated $15,800 to Khanna's congressional campaigns since 2017.

Khanna's public statements and those of his spokesperson have differed over Henry Yin's role. In a 2019 Facebook post, Khanna described Yin as his "Senior Advisor on Foreign Trade and Economic Development", while a 2020 post called him a "good friend".

Yin's LinkedIn profile until this month listed him as a senior adviser to Khanna beginning in 2019. The profile has since been deleted.

Khanna's spokesperson told the New York Post that Yin had never held a formal role with the congressman.

Meanwhile, APAPA's Concepcion said the organisation has "no relationship with the People's Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, or the United Front" and that members' personal travel, relationships and employment histories should not be attributed to the organisation.

Who is 'Chinese spy' Fang Fang

Fang Fang came under US scrutiny over alleged efforts to build relationships with American politicians and political figures. She was linked to former California congressman Eric Swalwell, with whom she had a sexual relationship, before leaving the US for China in 2015.

FBI files released in August this year reportedly also identified her as a point of contact for the Asian Pacific American Public Affairs (APAPA), an organisation founded by C C Yin and his brother Henry Yin.