Former Southern California mayor Eileen Wang pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government. Wang, who resigned as mayor of Arcadia earlier this month, was originally charged in April with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. She admitted to following instructions from Chinese officials by distributing articles favorable to Beijing without prior notification to the U.S. government, as required by law.
Background of the Case
The 56-year-old Wang was elected to the five-person city council in November 2022, with the mayor position rotating among council members. Federal prosecutors allege that Wang's illegal activities occurred between late 2020 and 2022. However, Arcadia city officials and Wang's attorneys have stated that her conduct ceased before she took office.
Arcadia, located approximately 13 miles northeast of Los Angeles, has a population of about 53,000, with a majority Asian demographic and a high concentration of Chinese residents.
Court Proceedings
Wang appeared in downtown Los Angeles federal court to enter her guilty plea. During the hearing, U.S. District Judge Wesley Hsu asked procedural questions to ensure Wang understood her rights and the consequences of her plea. A Mandarin interpreter was available, but Wang declined their assistance.
Wang was allowed to remain free on a $25,000 bond until her sentencing on October 6. She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Details of the Plea Agreement
According to the plea agreement, Wang and her then-fiancé, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, worked on behalf of Chinese government officials by promoting propaganda on a website called U.S. News Center. Sun is currently serving a four-year sentence after pleading guilty to the same charge in October 2023. He was also listed as the treasurer for Wang's 2022 election campaign.
In one instance in June 2021, a Chinese government official sent Wang a link to a letter to the editor published in the Los Angeles Times. The letter, written by the consul general of the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles, denied reports of persecution, forced labor, and abuse of Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province, stating, “There has never been genocide in Xinjiang or forced labor in the region’s cotton fields or any other sector.” Within minutes, Wang shared the link on her website.
The United States and several other countries have declared that Beijing's policies against the Uyghurs amount to genocide and crimes against humanity.
Personal Context
Wang's attorneys stated that she was engaged to Sun at the time of the activities. Wang has said the relationship ended in spring 2024. A statement released after her resignation referenced “her trust and love for apparently the wrong person who ultimately led her astray.”
Reactions from Officials
Residents and former Arcadia elected officials have expressed that Wang should have been asked to resign once she came under FBI investigation related to Sun's case. Acting Mayor Paul Cheng said that the city council's hands were tied, as the city charter only allows for removal if a council member has been convicted of a crime, which Wang had not at the time. “If there is a federal investigation that is in place, we are not investigators and to politicize an issue only impacts whatever federal investigation is out there,” Cheng stated.
