Democratic megadonor who gave to Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris linked to murky honeypot spy saga

A California family that has injected millions of dollars into Democratic campaigns is facing renewed scrutiny over its connections to people and organizations tied to suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang.

The Yin family, who made its fortune operating McDonald’s franchises in the state, has donated more than $4.4 million to state and federal political causes — including hundreds of thousands of dollars to Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and other prominent Democrats, according to campaign records, CBS News reported.

The family’s political connections have drawn attention following the release of FBI files concerning Fang, whose relationship with disgraced former California Rep. Eric Swalwell became the subject of a major national security controversy.

The documents released by the White House in August describe a working relationship between Fang and CC Yin, the 89-year-old patriarch of the Yin family, through the Asian Pacific American Public Affairs (APAPA) organization, which he helped establish.

The FBI files also include interviews with Swalwell in which he described Fang as his point of contact for the APAPA.

The name of the APAPA official who directed Swalwell to Fang is redacted in the documents, though CBS News reported that two people familiar with the files identified that person as CC Yin.

There is no evidence that in the Yin family knew about Fang’s alleged espionage, and neither has been accused by US law enforcement of acting as a foreign agent.

“I love America, and I strongly condemn any effort by any foreign government to interfere in American politics or undermine our democracy,” CC Yin told CBS News.

The family — which also includes CC Yin’s brother Henry Yin — has donated extensively to Democratic politicians.

State and federal campaign records show the family’s McDonald’s franchise business donated $364,817 to campaigns supporting Newsom, $80,000 to his 2019 inauguration committee, and another $50,000 to a “nonprofit at Newsom’s direction,” according to CBS News.

The family also gave $221,700 to Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis’ campaigns between 2018 and 2025 and $214,300 to Harris’ campaigns between 2019 and 2024, according to the records. Former California Treasurer John Chiang received $115,680.

The family also donated $15,800 to Rep. Ro Khanna’s congressional campaigns since 2017, according to the records.

The California Post has contacted the offices of the funding recipients for comment.

Henry Yin has also appeared alongside Newsom, including during a 2023 trip by the governor to China, according to publicly available photographs.

Meanwhile, national security experts have raised questions about Henry’s documented meetings in China with officials associated with the Chinese government’s United Front system.

“This is how the United Front works. They build these friendly, long-term relationships, then at some point they make requests,” Cheryl Yu, a fellow at The Jamestown Foundation, told CBS News.

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