Former California Mayor Admits Acting as Chinese Agent

A local political scandal in Southern California has turned into a federal national security case, underscoring how concerns about foreign influence are reaching well beyond Washington.

Eileen Wang, the former mayor of Arcadia, has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, according to the US Department of Justice.

Prosecutors say Wang acted on behalf of China from late 2020 through 2022 without notifying the US government, as required under federal law. During that period, she operated a website called US News Center, which presented itself as a news source for Chinese Americans while publishing content supportive of the People’s Republic of China.

According to the Justice Department, Wang republished a “PRC official-written essay” denying allegations that China was committing genocide against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.

The case also involves Yaoning Sun, who ran the website with Wang. Sun was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty in 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

Wang resigned from her position on Monday, the same day the plea agreement was announced. She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Her attorneys, Brian A. Sun and Jason Liang, sought to draw a line between the conduct described in the case and her role in public office.

“It is important to note, however, that the conduct underlying the information and the agreement with the government relates solely to Ms. Wang’s personal life – i.e., a media platform that she once operated with someone whom she believed to be her fiancé – and not to her conduct as an elected public official,” they said.

They added that “Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver,” and that “She asks for the community’s understanding and continued support.”

Federal officials framed the matter more bluntly. John A. Eisenberg said:

“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent.”

“It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed.”

The case lands at a sensitive diplomatic moment. Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the two leaders are expected to discuss trade, Taiwan and the ongoing war involving Iran.