LOS ANGELES — A former Southern California mayor has pleaded guilty to secretly acting as an agent of the Chinese government, admitting that she helped promote Beijing-directed propaganda in the United States without notifying federal authorities.
Eileen Wang, the former mayor of Arcadia, California, entered the guilty plea on Friday in federal court in Los Angeles. Prosecutors said Wang acted as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China before she was elected to the Arcadia City Council in 2022 and before she became mayor in 2023.
Federal authorities said Wang worked with Yaoning “Mike” Sun, her former fiancé and campaign treasurer, to advance Chinese government messaging aimed at Chinese-American audiences. The two helped operate a website called U.S. News Center, which published content directed or approved by Chinese officials, including material defending Beijing against accusations over its treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Prosecutors said Wang and Sun communicated with Chinese officials through encrypted WeChat messages and coordinated the publication of pro-China articles. In one instance, after an article received more than 15,000 views, Wang thanked a Chinese official who had approved it, according to court records.
Under U.S. law, anyone acting in the United States as an agent of a foreign government must notify the attorney general. Prosecutors said Wang failed to do so, making her conduct illegal even though the activities took place before she held elected office.
Wang resigned as mayor earlier this month after federal charges were filed. She was released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for October 6. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison and up to three years of supervised release.
Sun has already pleaded guilty in the same investigation and is serving a four-year prison sentence. Federal officials have described the case as part of a wider effort to counter covert foreign influence operations inside the United States.
Arcadia officials said Wang’s illegal conduct ended before she took office, but the case has unsettled the city and drawn criticism from residents who had called for her resignation after the investigation became public.
U.S. prosecutors said the case shows how foreign governments may seek to influence American communities through local political networks, media platforms and trusted public figures. For Wang, the guilty plea ends the question of criminal liability but leaves her facing sentencing later this year.
