The mayor of Arcadia, California, Eileen Wang, has been charged in federal court with acting in the United States as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China, the US Justice Department announced Monday.
Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to one felony count, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.
According to her plea agreement, Wang worked from late 2020 through 2022 with Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, California, at the direction and control of PRC government officials to promote Chinese government interests in the United States.
Prosecutors said the two operated US News Center, a website that presented itself as a news outlet for the local Chinese American community while publishing pro-PRC content directed by Chinese officials.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said elected officials in the United States “should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” adding that Wang’s undisclosed relationship with a foreign government was “deeply concerning.”
Wang and her partner shared pre-written material from China
Federal prosecutors said Wang received pre-written material from a PRC official through WeChat in June 2021, including content denying genocide and forced labor allegations in Xinjiang.
Minutes later, Wang allegedly posted the material on her website and sent the link back to the PRC official, who thanked the group for publishing it quickly.
In another instance, prosecutors said Wang edited an article at the request of a PRC official and later sent a screenshot showing the article had been viewed 15,128 times.
Federal prosecutors also cited Wang’s communication with John Chen, described in court documents as a high-level member of the PRC intelligence apparatus. Chen was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in prison after pleading guilty in New York to acting as an illegal PRC agent and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
The case comes amid continued US concern over Chinese influence and espionage activity, including previous Justice Department cases involving alleged Chinese agents, reported activity at a Chinese “secret police station,” and warnings from US officials about Beijing-linked influence operations.
Wang admitted that she did not notify the US attorney general that she was acting as an agent of the PRC and did not disclose on her website that some content had been posted at the direction of Chinese government officials.