Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang Resigns After Guilty Plea to Acting as Chinese Agent

The mayor of Arcadia, a city in southern California, resigned after the US Department of Justice charged her with acting as an illegal agent of China.

Eileen Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to the felony count. The Arcadia City Council said she resigned from her post on Monday. Wang could face up to 10 years in prison.

Her lawyers, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, issued a statement on her behalf. "She apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life," it said.

First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said, "This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China's efforts to corrupt our institutions."

The Department of Justice accused Wang of following directions from Chinese officials. That included sharing favorable articles about Beijing without informing the US government, as required by law.

Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022. The five-member body rotates the mayor role among its members.

Wang accepts responsibility for "past personal mistakes," she said in a statement via her lawyers, according to the AP news agency. "Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver," the statement added.

According to the Department of Justice, Wang worked with Yaoning "Mike" Sun, 65, to operate US News Center. The website claimed to be a news source for Chinese Americans in Arcadia.

The Department of Justice cited an example in which a Chinese government official sent Wang pre-written news articles via the WeChat encrypted messaging app. Shortly after receiving the link, Wang shared it on US News Center and responded to the official, the department said.

Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto posted a statement on the city website. "The allegations at the center of this case, that a foreign government sought to exert influence over a local elected official, are deeply troubling. We take them seriously," he said.

"We want to be clear: this investigation concerns individual conduct, and the charges are for conduct that ceased after Ms Wang was sworn into office in December 2022. Following an internal review, we can confirm that no City finances, staff, or decision-making processes were involved," Lazzaretto added.