A Southern California mayor has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government. She has also handed in her resignation from the position. Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, was charged in April with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. This plea comes with a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, per authorities. Moreover, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, a colleague of hers, was also involved.
US Mayor reportedly resigns after China agent accusations
Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, has resigned from her post. She also pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government. She was charged with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government in April of this year. Now, it seems that she is pleading guilty to the charge. This carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison (via CNN).
“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,” city manager Dominic Lazzaretto said, adding that no city finances or staff were involved in the ordeal.
Wang was elected in November 2022 to a five-person city council.
Wang’s attorneys, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, have asserted that Wang acknowledges the gravity of her crime. “She apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life,” they said in a statement. “Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver,” the statement further added.
According to her plea agreement, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, a colleague of hers, worked on behalf of government officials for the People’s Republic of China from the end of 2020 to 2022. For the same charge as Wang, Sun has been serving a four-year sentence after he pleaded guilty last October.
Reports further confirm that Wang and Sun operated the news website U.S. News Center, aimed at the Chinese American community, which posted pro-PRC content. Hence, the pair was charged.
