Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang Resigns After Federal Charges for Covert China Agent Work

Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, California, abruptly resigned Monday after federal prosecutors announced she had been charged with acting as a covert foreign agent for China.

“California mayor charged with acting as illegal agent for China Eileen Wang agreed to plead guilty, the Justice Department said”

ABC News

Wang agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count that carries a statutory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and the U.S. Department of Justice said she and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, worked on behalf of the People’s Republic of China to promote PRC interests through propaganda efforts.

ABC News

Prosecutors said Wang and Sun operated a website called “U.S. News Center,” which purported to be a news source for the Southern California Chinese American community, and that they received directives from PRC officials to post content favorable to the Chinese government.

In one example cited by prosecutors, PRC officials contacted Wang through encrypted WeChat messages in June 2021 to deliver prewritten news articles, and a PRC-drafted essay published in the Los Angeles Times included the claim: “There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production.”

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said, “It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all,” and prosecutors said Wang’s relationship with the foreign government had never been disclosed.

The DOJ said Wang and Sun received directives from Chinese officials to post content favorable to the Chinese government and spread propaganda on behalf of the People’s Republic of China, and Wang and Sun published the June 2021 content after receiving it via encrypted WeChat.

ABC30 Fresno

In that June 2021 incident, the PRC official replied, “So fast, thank you everyone,” minutes after Wang and Sun published the article on their website.

Wang’s lawyer released a statement saying, “Events in Ms. Wang’s personal life – including her trust and love for apparently the wrong person who ultimately led her astray – require her to step away from public service… She apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life.”

Wang was expected to make her first court appearance Monday, and NBC News reported she appeared in federal court and was released on a $25,000 bond after being charged with one count of acting in the U.S. as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

NBC News said Sun pleaded guilty in October and is serving a four-year prison sentence, while prosecutors said John Chen was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison in November 2024 after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal agent of China and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

The Arcadia city statement emphasized that an internal review found “no city finances, staff or decision-making processes were involved,” and it said the City Council would soon discuss replacing Wang, who represented the city’s 3rd District, until the November 2026 election.

The DOJ said the charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and the plea agreement said the government would recommend level reductions in the sentencing guidelines while a judge would determine Wang’s sentence.