Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang Resigns, Pleads Guilty to China Agent Charge Carrying 10 Years
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 12
Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang Resigns, Pleads Guilty to China Agent Charge Carrying 10 Years
10 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 12
Eileen Wang, 58, quit as Arcadia mayor hours after federal prosecutors unsealed a plea deal in which she admitted acting as an illegal agent of China.
The Justice Department said Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun used the US News Center website to publish Beijing-directed propaganda, including a 2021 article denying genocide and forced labor in Xinjiang.
Prosecutors also said Wang communicated with PRC-linked operative John Chen in 2021, describing one article as material “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.”
Arcadia officials said the conduct ended after Wang took office in December 2022 and did not involve city money, staff or decision-making; the council will choose a new mayor at its next meeting.
The case extends a wider federal crackdown: Chen pleaded guilty in 2024 and got 20 months, while Sun was sentenced in February to four years in prison.
A US mayor was a secret foreign agent. How deep does China’s influence on local American politics run?
Are current US laws equipped to stop foreign agents from infiltrating local governments?
When community news is secretly foreign propaganda, how can citizens distinguish fact from fiction?
From City Hall to Federal Court: The Case of Mayor Eileen Wang and China’s Covert Influence in U.S. Politics
Overview
On May 11, 2026, Mayor Eileen Wang resigned after a plea agreement revealed federal charges accusing her of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the People’s Republic of China. This serious offense, which could lead to a lengthy prison sentence, involved Wang covertly working with PRC officials and using a news website to spread content supporting the Chinese government’s agenda. Her actions, uncovered through digital communications, highlight a significant breach of public trust and demonstrate how foreign influence operations can reach into local government, raising concerns about national security and the integrity of democratic institutions.