California Mayor resigns after pleading guilty to acting as Chinese agent
text_fields
Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia in southern California, resigned on Monday after the US Department of Justice charged her with acting as an illegal foreign agent for China.
Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge and could face up to 10 years in prison.
According to the Department of Justice, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun worked with the Chinese government to promote pro-China propaganda through a website called US News Center, which presented itself as a news platform for the local Chinese American community.
Federal officials alleged that Wang acted under the direction of Chinese officials before she was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022.
Hours after the plea agreement became public, Wang announced her resignation as mayor.
Arcadia city officials said the conduct took place before Wang assumed office in December 2022 and stated that no city funds, staff, or decision-making processes were involved.
“The allegations at the center of this case, that a foreign government sought to exert influence over a local elected official, are deeply troubling,” Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto said in a statement.
The Department of Justice cited several instances of coordination between Wang and Chinese officials. In one case from June 2021, officials said Wang shared a pre-written article denying allegations of abuses in Xinjiang after receiving it through an encrypted WeChat group linked to Chinese authorities.
Investigators said Wang quickly published the article on her website and sent the link back to the Chinese official, who thanked participants for acting quickly.
The Justice Department also alleged that Wang communicated with John Chen, described as a senior Chinese intelligence-linked figure with ties to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chen pleaded guilty in November 2024 to acting as an illegal agent of China and conspiracy to bribe a public official. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Sun, Wang’s associate, pleaded guilty earlier this year to acting as an illegal foreign agent and was sentenced to four years in federal prison.