Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang Resigns After Plea Admits Illegal Foreign Agent Work for China

Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, Calif., resigned after a plea agreement showed she admitted to undisclosed work on behalf of China, and federal authorities said she acted as an illegal foreign agent of China.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Wang’s campaign advisor and former romantic partner pleaded guilty in 2024 to secretly working as a foreign agent, with court filings detailing his connection to “a high-level member” of China’s intelligence community.

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NPR said Wang agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge accusing her of promoting the interests of the People’s Republic of China under the direction of Chinese officials, and that she faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

NPR also reported that from late 2020 to 2022, Wang and a man named Yaoning “Mike” Sun ran a website called U.S. News Center targeting the area’s large Chinese diaspora while concealing their ties to the Chinese government from the public.

Federal prosecutors said “Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called the plea agreement a success in defending the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt institutions.

Wang’s attorneys, Brian Sun and Jason Liang, said in a joint statement that “she apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life,” while Sun suggested Wang was persuaded by “someone who she believed to be her fiance” to act on behalf of the PRC.

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NPR quoted Nicholas Eftimiades, a former senior U.S. intelligence officer who specializes in Chinese espionage, saying, “We’ve certainly seen a number of cases of China attempting to recruit lower level officials on long term approaches so that they can conduct covert influence on the United States.”

Eftimiades told NPR that China’s “whole of society approach” includes recruiting mayors and congressmen with the hope they rise into greater positions, and that once in place they could carry out operations on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.

The Los Angeles Times said the scandal had quieted until Monday, on the eve of President Trump’s planned trip to Beijing, when a plea deal was unsealed revealing Wang’s own murky role as an agent for China.

Katie Miller, wife of top Trump advisor Stephen Miller, blasted Wang on social media site X as a “spy,” saying on Fox News, “This is pure China trying to influence U.S. politics and U.S. elections,” while Sharon Kwan told the Times, “There were red flags everywhere.”

NPR framed the case as part of a broader pattern, saying experts view it as emblematic of Beijing’s broadening tradecraft strategy in the U.S. and around the globe.

NPR also reported that Sun is currently serving 48 months in federal prison, and that court documents unsealed this week show Wang reached a deal with federal prosecutors after admitting she acted as an illegal foreign agent of China.