Eileen Wang, the mayor of the California city of Arcadia, has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of China, according to the US Department of Justice. Wang has resigned as mayor and is expected to enter her guilty plea in federal court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
Wang, 58, and her former fiance Yaoning “Mike” Sun were charged with promoting pro-China propaganda in the United States under the direction of Chinese government officials. Federal prosecutors announced the charges on Monday.
Sun, 65, is already serving a four-year prison sentence. He pleaded guilty in federal court in October last year.
According to court filings, Wang agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022. The council has five members, and the mayor is selected on a rotating basis.
“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” said First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California.
“This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China's efforts to corrupt our institutions,” Essayli said in a statement.
FBI officials also commented on the case after the plea agreement was announced.
“By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.
“Let this serve as a clear warning: individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice,”. Rozhavsky said.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said elected officials in the United States must serve only the people they represent.
“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” said Eisenberg.
According to the plea agreement, Wang and Sun worked under the direction and control of Chinese government officials from late 2020 through 2022. Prosecutors said the pair promoted Beijing’s interests in the United States by spreading pro-PRC propaganda.
Wang and Sun operated a website called US News Center, which presented itself as a news source for the local Chinese American community.
Federal prosecutors said the pair received instructions from Chinese government officials and posted pro-China content on the website based on those directives.
Wang admitted in her plea agreement that she failed to notify the US Attorney General that she was acting in the United States as an agent of China.
She also admitted that the website did not disclose that some of its content was posted under the direction of Chinese government officials.
