(KTLA) — The mayor of Arcadia, California, Eileen Wang, abruptly resigned Monday as federal prosecutors announced she had been charged with acting as a covert foreign agent for China.
Wang has agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count that carries a statutory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, the U. S. Department of Justice announced.
According to her plea agreement, Wang, 58, and an associate, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, worked on behalf of the People’s Republic of China to promote the government’s interests through propaganda efforts. Among their platforms was the U. S. News Center, which purported to be a news source for Southern California’s Chinese American community, according to the DOJ.
In one example from June 2021, prosecutors said Chinese officials contacted Wang through encrypted WeChat messages to deliver prewritten news articles.
One drafted essay published in the Los Angeles Times stated, “There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production. Spreading such rumor to do defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development.”
Minutes later, Wang posted the article on her own website and responded to the Chinese official with a link, as did others in the group chat, according to the DOJ. A short time later, the Chinese official replied, “So fast, thank you everyone.”
The Chinese government has been accused of carrying out genocide against ethnic minorities, predominantly Muslims, in the Xinjiang region and of imposing forced labor.
In August 2021, federal prosecutors said Wang and three other members of the WeChat group shared links to the same article on their respective websites and again received thanks from the Chinese official.
In November 2021, prosecutors said Wang coordinated propaganda articles with a high-level member of the country’s intelligence who had a direct line to Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to court documents. That official, John Chen of Chino, California, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for acting as an illegal agent of the government and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
Sun, meanwhile, received a four-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Wang was expected to make her first court appearance Monday.
“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 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.”
Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022. The city’s mayors are selected on a rotating basis.
Her official biography page remained online as of Monday afternoon, describing her as “the daughter of proud immigrants who came to California seeking their American Dream.”
Prior to her election, Wang served on the Parent Teacher Association for Camino Grove Elementary School and was president of the American Southwest Chamber of Commerce USA.
“The allegations at the center of this case, that a foreign government sought to exert influence over a local elected official, are deeply troubling. We take them seriously,” the city said in a statement Monday. “Following an internal review, we can confirm that no city finances, staff or decision-making processes were involved.”
Arcadia officials said the City Council would soon discuss replacing Wang, who represented the city’s 3rd District, until the November 2026 election.
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