Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the Chinese government, according to U.S. officials. Wang, 58, resigned from the city council and her mayoral position shortly after the case was made public. She briefly appeared before a federal magistrate judge on Monday, where bond was set at $25,000, and is expected to formally enter her guilty plea at a later hearing.
Federal prosecutors stated that Wang admitted to promoting pro-China propaganda between 2020 and 2022 under the direction of Chinese government officials. According to the plea agreement, she helped operate a website called “U.S. News Center,” which appeared to serve the local Chinese-American community but was allegedly used to spread messaging favorable to Beijing. Prosecutors said Wang posted content disputing reports of human rights abuses against Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region and maintained direct communication with Chinese officials.
The case also highlighted Wang’s connections to Yaoning “Mike” Sun, who was sentenced earlier this year after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal foreign agent, and to Chinese Communist Party figure John Chen, previously convicted in a similar case. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said covert actions on behalf of foreign governments undermine American democracy. Wang’s attorneys issued a statement apologizing for her actions, while Arcadia city officials emphasized that the conduct ended before she officially took office in December 2022 and did not involve city resources or decision-making.
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