At the age of 15, Yan joined cultural group run by the Red Guards, a student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong.
[1][3] Yan had been previously hired by Bruce Dover, an executive at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as a lobbyist for the purpose of expanding the company's presence in China.
Yan and her husband Roger Uren, a former Office of National Assessments (ONA) official, were investigated by ASIO on suspicion of spying for China.
[5] Uren, former Assistant Secretary responsible for the Asia section of ONA, was found to have removed documents pertaining to Chinese intelligence operations in Australia, and kept them in his apartment.
[5] Yan was suspected of undertaking influence operations on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, and introducing Colonel Liu Chaoying, a military intelligence officer, to Australian contacts.
[2] Yan plead guilty to bribery charges and served a 20-month prison sentence, however denied that she was spying on behalf of the Chinese government.