The Chinese-born mayor of Arcadia, California, pleaded guilty on Monday to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government and faces up to 10 years in prison.
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“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,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.
Eileen Wang, 58, admitted to working with her fiancé, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, California, on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
They worked with direction from Chinese government officials and U.S.-based operatives to promote Chinese interests and spread Chinese propaganda.
Wang worked to operate the U.S. News Center website. The site claimed to be a news source for local Chinese Americans, but Wang and Sun used it to publish pre-written articles given to them by CCP officials.
One such article included a denial of the Chinese genocide of the Uyghur people: “China’s Stance on the Xinjiang Issue—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[.] [sic]”
In November 2021, Wang communicated to John Chen, a high-level CCP intelligence agent, who has met directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Wang requested that the intelligence operative post an article on her website for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Chen was previously sentenced in November 2024 to just 20 months in prison after pleading guilty to working as a CCP agent and conspiring to bribe a public official.
Wang’s co-conspirator, Sun, pleaded guilty in October 2025 and is serving just four years in prison.
Wang faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence followed by 10 years of supervised release.
She resigned her position as mayor on the same day she submitted her guilty plea.
“All City Council actions are taken by the body as a whole and no single member holds unilateral authority. We have found no actions that require reconsideration or that are invalidated as a result of these developments. The remainder of the City Council is not under investigation and City operations continue without interruption,” said the City Manager after their mayor was charged.
Wang had an extremely brief tenure as mayor after first taking office in February of this year.
Prior to that, she served as a city councilor from 2022 until she became mayor. In 2022, she reportedly switched her party affiliation from Republican to Democrat.
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