California mayor accused of operating as secret agent for Chinese government

The mayor of Arcadia, California, has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the United States Department of Justice said, marking a case that prosecutors say underscores foreign influence concerns in local politics.

Eileen Wang, 58, who was elected to the Arcadia City Council in 2022 and later served as mayor on a rotating basis, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. She faces a statutory maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

According to court filings, Wang and co-defendant Yaoning “Mike” Sun operated a website, U.S. News Center, which authorities say presented itself as a community news outlet for Chinese Americans but was in fact used to publish content directed by PRC officials.

Prosecutors allege the pair received pre-written articles via encrypted messaging app WeChat and posted them online within minutes, often confirming compliance with instructions from PRC-linked contacts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Wang failed to disclose her alleged coordination with foreign officials while holding public office.

“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions.”

“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “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.”

“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.

Protecting the rule of law and the transparency of our democratic process remains at the core of the FBI’s mission, and we will continue working alongside our partners to safeguard the integrity of our elections and keep hostile actors from undermining the voices of the American people.”

Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said: “All Americans should be alarmed to learn an elected official was brazenly spreading propaganda on behalf of the Chinese government.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev