CALIFORNIA MAYOR AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO ACTING AS ILLEGAL CHINESE AGENT, RESIGNS FROM OFFICE. (PHOTO).

California mayor agrees to plead guilty to acting as illegal Chinese agent, resigns from office

Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government and has resigned from her position, federal officials announced Monday.

Wang, 58, was charged in April with acting in the United States on behalf of a foreign government without properly notifying federal authorities. Prosecutors accused her of carrying out activities favorable to the Chinese government, including sharing pro-Beijing content and propaganda online.

Wang was elected to Arcadia’s five-member city council in November 2022 and later became mayor through the council’s rotating leadership system. City officials said the investigation did not involve city finances or employees and that the conduct in question ended after Wang took office in December 2022.

Federal authorities said Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. She is expected to formally enter her plea in federal court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

In a statement released through her attorneys, Wang acknowledged the seriousness of the charge and accepted responsibility for what they described as “past personal mistakes.” Her lawyers said she remains devoted to the Arcadia community despite the allegations.

According to court documents, Wang and associate Yaoning “Mike” Sun allegedly worked on behalf of officials from the People’s Republic of China between late 2020 and 2022. Prosecutors said the pair promoted Chinese government interests in the United States by publishing favorable content through a website called U.S. News Center, which targeted Chinese American readers.

Sun previously pleaded guilty to the same charge and is serving a four-year prison sentence. Campaign filings also listed him as treasurer for Wang’s 2022 city council campaign.

Court records allege that Chinese government officials directed Wang and Sun to publish content supporting Beijing’s positions on sensitive political issues. In one example cited by prosecutors, Wang allegedly reposted a letter defending China’s treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region shortly after receiving it from a Chinese official.

The U.S. government and several allied nations have labeled China’s actions against the Uyghur population as genocide and crimes against humanity, accusations Beijing denies.

Wang’s attorneys said she was engaged to Sun at the time of the alleged conduct, though the relationship reportedly ended in 2024. The attorneys suggested that Wang had been influenced by someone she trusted.

Prosecutors also said Wang communicated with another man, John Chen, who previously pleaded guilty to acting as an agent for the Chinese government and was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

Arcadia, located northeast of Los Angeles, has a population of about 53,000 residents and a large Asian American community.