Arcadia politics took a dramatic turn Friday when former Mayor Eileen Wang pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government, according to federal court records. She now faces up to 10 years in prison and stepped down from the mayor's post just hours after her plea agreement was unsealed. Wang entered the plea in federal court in downtown Los Angeles and was released on a $25,000 bond. Prosecutors say the conduct at issue ran from 2020 through 2022 and centered on a Chinese-language news site that carried pro-PRC material at officials' direction.
In a Department of Justice release, federal officials say Wang and an associate operated a site called U.S. News Center, took instructions from People's Republic of China officials and posted articles they requested. Prosecutors say she sometimes edited content at their request, then reported back with screenshots showing view counts. The DOJ said the FBI is investigating and that Wang admitted she never notified the U.S. attorney general that she was acting on behalf of a foreign government.
What prosecutors allege
Court filings unsealed in May describe PRC officials distributing prewritten pieces via encrypted messaging and asking U.S.-based outlets to publish them. Prosecutors say Wang posted those items on her site and shared metrics highlighting their reach. One government message, quoted in the filings, insisted that "there is no genocide in Xinjiang." Investigators say Wang posted a linked letter within minutes, then later reported that it had drawn more than 15,000 views. Those examples appear in the court filings and the Department of Justice summary.
Her former fiancé and campaign adviser, Yaoning "Mike" Sun, pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced this year to four years in federal prison, prosecutors and news outlets report. The AP noted Sun's name on Wang's campaign filings, and as the secret China agent role coverage reported, he was prosecuted separately for helping run parts of the same pro-PRC effort.
Local backlash at council meeting
By the time of a May 19 City Council meeting, public anger in Arcadia had boiled over. Residents and former officials lined up at the microphone to demand Wang's removal after news of the federal investigation became public. Former Mayor Tom Beck told councilmembers they should have forced her out after an FBI search of her home, and Paul Cheng, who now serves as mayor, told the crowd, "We will not surrender to fear," according to the Los Angeles Times. City officials have said no city funds or staff were involved in the conduct described in the filings and that it ended before Wang took office.
Legal fallout and next steps
Wang entered her guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Wesley Hsu, who said her admission could bar her from holding public office and set sentencing for October. The charge carries a maximum 10-year penalty under federal law, and Wang resigned her mayoral duties within hours of the plea agreement becoming public, developments outlined by the Los Angeles Times. Prosecutors and federal agencies say the case highlights wider worries about covert foreign influence operations that reach all the way down to local government.
