A Southern California mayor has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government and has resigned from her city position, officials said on Monday (May 11).
Eileen Wang, Arcadia’s mayor in California, was charged in April with one count of acting in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without proper registration. Prosecutors allege she carried out requests from Chinese officials — including circulating content supportive of Beijing — without first notifying the US government as required.
Wang, 58, won election in November 2022 to Arcadia’s five-member city council. The mayoral role is chosen from the council on a rotating basis.
In a statement from her attorneys Jason Liang and Brian Sun, they said she understands the gravity of the allegation and is accepting responsibility for what they described as “past personal mistakes.”
“She apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life,” they said, adding: “Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver.”
Authorities claim Wang acted on behalf of officials from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) between late 2020 and 2022, seeking to advance PRC interests by helping distribute pro-PRC messaging in the US.
Arcadia city manager Dominic Lazzaretto said in a news release that the matter did not impact city finances while Wang was involved in the alleged conduct.
“We want to be clear: this investigation concerns individual conduct, and the charges are for conduct that ceased after Ms. Wang was sworn into office in December 2022.”
If accepted by the court, Wang’s plea carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison.
The case also references a former associate, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, who pleaded guilty to the same charge in October 2025 and is serving a four-year sentence.
Wang and Sun — who were previously engaged — are alleged to have run a news site, U.S. News Center, targeted at Chinese-American readers.
Investigators say the pair were instructed to publish PRC propaganda on the website.
Court filings state that Chinese officials sent Wang articles and instructions through the encrypted messaging app WeChat, Daily Mail reports.
One of the items cited in the filings reportedly pushed back on allegations of genocide and forced labour in China’s Xinjiang region.
Wang’s lawyers have also pointed to her former relationship with Sun as a factor they say influenced her actions; the pair are believed to have separated in spring 2024.
“Her trust and love for apparently the wrong person who ultimately led her astray,’ they said of the former Arcadia mayor’s relationship with Sun.