Former Arcadia Mayor Pleads Guilty to Acting as Illegal Chinese Agent

Eileen Wang, the former mayor of Arcadia, California, pleaded guilty on Friday to a federal charge of secretly working to promote the interests of China and spread Chinese Communist Party propaganda, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Wang, 58, resigned from the city council and stepped down as mayor on May 11, the same day prosecutors announced she had agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in 2022 with the assistance of her then-fiancé, Yaoning "Mike" Sun, who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to similar charges in a related case. At the direction of Chinese government officials, Sun led an effort to get Wang elected, and the couple operated the news website U.S.

News Center, which targeted the Chinese American community. Prosecutors said they were instructed by Chinese officials to post pro-People's Republic of China content on the site, including an article that denied reports of genocide and forced labor against Uyghurs in Xinjiang province.

In November of that year, Wang communicated with John Chen, described by prosecutors as a high-level member of the PRC intelligence apparatus. Chen asked her to post an article on the website, writing that "this is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send." Chen was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in federal prison for acting as an illegal agent of the PRC and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

Wang's attorneys, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, stated that she recognizes the seriousness of the charge and accepts responsibility for "past personal mistakes." They added, "Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver." City manager Dominic Lazzaretto previously said that no city finances or staff were involved in the scheme, and the charges concern conduct that ceased after Wang was sworn into office in December 2022.

Wang faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and is due back in court for sentencing on October 29, 2026. Arcadia, located east of Pasadena in the San Gabriel Valley, has been described as the "Chinese Beverly Hills" due to its popularity among affluent Chinese immigrants.