Suspected Chinese spy targeted Bay Area politicians, then disappeared

The Cal State East Bay student and Chinese national hobnobbed with some of the Bay Area’s leading politicians, even fundraising for some. She attended student events, fundraisers, campaign rallies and cocktail parties throughout the region, ingratiating herself to politicians on the rise.

But what Congressman Eric Swalwell and others didn’t know was Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, was a suspected Chinese spy, according to a one-year investigation by Axios. U.S. intelligence officials told the news organization that China’s main civilian spy agency ran an operation developing connections with local and national politicians — with particular focus on the Bay Area — between 2011 and 2015. The idea, they said, was to use Fang to develop links with politicians who were destined for bigger, national roles especially in the influential Northern California region with ties to Silicon Valley.