Eileen Wang resigned as Arcadia mayor on Monday after reaching an agreement with federal prosecutors to resolve a case accusing her of acting as an illegal foreign agent of China. She appeared in federal court in downtown Los Angeles the same day, where a judge told her lawyers to set a date for a formal guilty plea.
The case centers on allegations that Wang, 49, acted under the control of the People’s Republic of China to promote propaganda in the United States between 2020 and 2022. The maximum sentence on the charge is 10 years in prison. A magistrate judge ordered her to post a $25,000 bond and surrender all passports and travel documents.
Federal officials said Wang worked with Yaoning “Mike” Sun from late 2020 through at least 2022 to run a website called U.S. News Center, which branded itself as a news source for Chinese Americans. Under the plea agreement, Wang and Sun carried out directives from Chinese government officials, posted requested articles and sent back screenshots showing how many people viewed the stories. On June 10, 2021, Wang received a message from a government official about “China’s Stance on the Xinjiang Issue,” along with a link to a letter to the editor at the Los Angeles Times from the consul general of the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles.
Arcadia officials said the conduct described by federal authorities occurred before Wang was elected to the City Council in November 2022. They removed her name from the city’s list of council members after the charges were announced, and the city said the allegations were troubling and taken seriously. City officials also said they wanted to be direct with the community about what they knew and where they stood.
The plea agreement adds a political twist to a case already built on national-security accusations. Wang held public office only after the period described in the federal filing, but prosecutors say the online activity at the heart of the case shows how foreign influence efforts can move through local media and into community politics. In court, the next step is a date for Wang to formally enter her guilty plea.
