The mayor of a city in California resigned after admitting that she had been acting as a secret agent for China.

[Image source, Reuters] [Image caption, Eileen Wang resigned from her position as mayor of Arcadia, a city northwest of Los Angeles.] [Author, Henry Moore] [Author title, BBC News] [8 minutes] [Reading time: 3 min] A mayor of a city in Southern California, United States, has resigned after the Department of Justice accused her of acting as an unregistered agent of China. Eileen Wang, 58, the mayor of Arcadia, pleaded guilty and could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Her lawyers, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, stated in a statement on her behalf that "she apologizes and regrets the mistakes she has made in her personal life." Following the plea, the Arcadia City Council announced that Wang had resigned from her position on Monday. "This guilty plea is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China's efforts to corrupt our institutions," said Deputy U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. "Individuals in our country who, covertly, follow the orders of foreign governments undermine our democracy," he added. What is she accused of? According to the Department of Justice, Wang is accused of following instructions from Chinese officials, sharing articles favorable to the Beijing government without informing U.S. authorities, as required by law. The woman allegedly collaborated with Yaoning "Mike" Sun, 65, in managing US News Center, a website that presented itself as a news source for Chinese-Americans residing in Arcadia. [More] [Most read] [End of Most read] An example used by the Department of Justice shows that a Chinese government official sent Wang pre-written news articles via the encrypted messaging app WeChat. Shortly after receiving the link, Wang shared it on US News Center and continued communication with that Chinese official, according to the Department of Justice. Wang stated that she accepts responsibility for her "past personal mistakes," according to her lawyers in the statement. "Her love and devotion to the Arcadia community have not changed or wavered," the statement adds. [Image source, Getty Images] [Image caption, Arcadia has a large Chinese-American community.] [More] [Podcast] [Continue reading] [Improbable] The new BBC Mundo podcast about a love that triumphed against all odds. [Episodes] [End of Podcast] According to public records, "Mike" Sun was previously engaged to Wang, with whom he worked on her election campaign as treasurer. The woman was elected in November 2022 to the Arcadia City Council, a governing body composed of five members in which each member serves as mayor in rotation. In that town, the Chinese-American population reaches 60% and has numerous businesses and community associations of the Asian community. On the Arcadia city website, Dominic Lazzaretto, city manager, stated: "The allegations at the center of this case, that a foreign government attempted to influence a local elected official, are deeply concerning. We take them very seriously." "We want to make it clear that this investigation relates to individual conduct, and that the charges relate to conduct that ceased after Ms. Wang took office in December 2022. Following an internal review, we can confirm that the city's funds, personnel, and decision-making processes were not affected," he concluded. Click here to read more stories from BBC News Mundo. Subscribe here to our new newsletter to receive a selection of our best content of the week every Friday. And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and activate them.