Eileen Wang, the now disgraced former mayor of Arcadia, California, abruptly resigned on May 11 after federal prosecutors announced charges accusing her of secretly acting as a foreign agent for China.
Federal prosecutors say Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge that could carry up to 10 years in prison. Authorities accuse her and associate Yaoning Sun, also known as “Mike” Sun, of working on behalf of the Chinese government to push propaganda efforts through platforms including the U.S. News Center, a media outlet aimed at Southern California’s Chinese American community.
“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.”
Prosecutors claim that in June 2021, Chinese officials sent Wang encrypted WeChat messages containing prewritten articles denying allegations of genocide and forced labor in Xinjiang. According to the United States Department of Justice, Wang quickly reposted the content to her website and shared the link back in the group chat, prompting a Chinese official to respond, “So fast, thank you everyone.”
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The request reportedly came amid international accusations that the Chinese government was carrying out human rights abuses, including genocide and forced labor, targeting mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region.
Prosecutors say Wang and others in the WeChat group continued reposting coordinated propaganda articles across their websites in 2021 while communicating with Chinese officials. Authorities also allege Wang later worked with John Chen, a California man who later pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent for China and was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison.
Meanwhile, Yaoning Sun was sentenced to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2025 to acting as an illegal foreign agent. Eileen Wang was expected to make her initial court appearance on May 11.
Wang’s guilty plea comes just a few years after she was elected to the Arcadia City Council in 2022. Her official city biography, which remained online Monday, described her as the daughter of immigrants who came to California chasing the American Dream.
The case has drawn major attention in Arcadia, a Southern California city widely known for its large Chinese-American population, with residents of Chinese heritage making up a significant portion of the community. Officials in Arcadia said the City Council is expected to discuss how to replace Wang, who represented the city’s 3rd District through the 2026 election cycle.
“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. “Following an internal review, we can confirm that no city finances, staff or decision-making processes were involved.”
