Arcadia Mayor Bows Out, Admits to Serving China as a Secret Agent
LOS ANGELES — Eileen Wang, the now-former mayor of Arcadia, has thrown in the towel, resigning and set to plead guilty to charges of secretly acting as an agent for China. This bombshell dropped Monday, sending shockwaves through the Los Angeles suburb.
Wang, who took office in 2022 in the city of 56,000, faced federal court where she was released on a $25,000 bond after being charged with one count of illegally serving a foreign government. The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles confirmed her impending guilty plea.
“By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government,” stated Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence and espionage division. Talk about a betrayal!
Prosecutors allege that Wang and her partner in crime, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, were busy pushing “pro-PRC propaganda” through a website dubbed “U.S. News Center.” PRC stands for the People’s Republic of China, and it seems they were all too eager to spread the word.
Sun already copped a plea back in October for his role as a foreign agent and is currently serving a four-year prison sentence. Now it’s Wang’s turn to face the music.
According to her plea agreement, Wang admits to acting as an agent for China without notifying the U.S. attorney general, which is a big no-no. The document reveals that both she and Sun were taking orders from PRC officials to post pro-China content online, sometimes even asking for permission from their Chinese overlords.
One particularly juicy allegation involves John Chen, described by prosecutors as a high-ranking Chinese official. In November 2021, he allegedly instructed Wang to post specific content on their website, stating, “This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.” Chen himself was sentenced to 20 months in prison last November after pleading guilty to bribery and acting as an unregistered agent.
Wang’s legal team insists that her actions were tied to her personal life and not the city’s affairs. They claim her relationship with Sun blurred the lines between her personal and professional lives. “She apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life,” her attorneys said. “Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed.”
The charge could land Wang up to 10 years behind bars, but her plea deal hints at possible leniency in sentencing. The specifics remain murky; a judge will ultimately decide her fate.
Filed on April 1 and unsealed Monday, the charge and plea agreement have left many wondering about the implications for local governance. The U.S. attorney’s office has yet to announce when Wang’s plea will take place, but it’s expected within weeks.
As for Arcadia? The city announced Wang's resignation on its website Monday, with plans for the City Council to appoint a new mayor at their next meeting. Arcadia sits in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley, just 13 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, boasting a diverse population where around 59% identify as Asian.
