The mayor of an affluent city in Southern California has stepped down after admitting to secretly working as an agent for the Chinese government, as revealed in a federal plea deal made public on Monday.
Eileen Wang, the former mayor of Arcadia, aged 58, has consented to plead guilty to the felony charge of operating as an unauthorized foreign agent for China. She was involved in promoting pro-Beijing propaganda within the United States.
This offense could lead to a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
The unexpected revelation caused immediate upheaval in Arcadia, with city officials announcing Wang’s resignation from both the City Council and her position as mayor on Monday.
According to federal prosecutors, Wang had been collaborating with Chinese government officials for several years before securing an elected position in Los Angeles County.
They also claimed she used a Chinese-language news website to distribute propaganda favorable to Beijing while secretly coordinating with officials tied to the Chinese Communist Party.
Authorities have described the website as a fake news platform targeting Chinese Americans.
The case has also triggered intense scrutiny of Wang’s carefully crafted public image.
Campaign photos and promotional images used during her political rise depicted Wang in heavily polished and retouched portraits that projected a glamorous and approachable persona to voters.
Former Mayor of Arcadia, California Eileen Wang resigned on Monday after a federal plea agreement accusing her of acting as an illegal agent for China was unsealed
Wang’s polished campaign images and heavily retouched social media photos drew attention after unedited courtroom and public appearances revealed a striking contrast with reality
But unedited public images revealed a stark contrast to the stylized campaign photographs that once appeared across city political materials and social media.
Her dramatic downfall came just hours after the City of Arcadia announced Wang’s resignation from the City Council and her departure as mayor.
‘As of May 11, 2026 Eileen Wang resigned from the Arcadia City Council, vacating her position as Mayor,’ the city said in a statement posted online.
‘At its next meeting, the City Council will select a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem from among the remaining Councilmembers and will begin discussing how Arcadia’s District 3 will be represented until the next election cycle in November 2026.’
Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 and later elevated to mayor through the city’s rotating leadership system.
But according to the Department of Justice, Wang’s ties to Chinese officials stretched back well before she ever took office.
Federal authorities say that from late 2020 through 2022, Wang worked alongside her then-fiancé, Yaoning ‘Mike’ Sun, under the ‘direction and control’ of officials tied to the Chinese government.
Together, prosecutors say, they operated a website called US News Center, which presented itself as a legitimate Chinese-American news outlet while allegedly serving as a propaganda vehicle for Beijing.
Chen Jun (pictured), who Yaoning ‘Mike’ Sun allegedly conspired with, was sentenced to prison in November for bribery and acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government
China used Wang’s then fiance, Yaoning ‘Mike’ Sun to spy on Taiwan via the US. Chen has been described as closely tied to China’s intelligence apparatus and who had personally met Chinese President Xi Jinping at elite Communist Party events (Xi and Chen are seen above)
Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 before later becoming mayor through the city’s rotating leadership system
According to court filings, Chinese officials sent Wang articles and directives through the encrypted messaging app WeChat, instructing her and others to publish content favorable to the Chinese Communist Party.
One of the most explosive examples outlined in the plea agreement involved propaganda denying allegations of genocide and forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.
On June 10, 2021, a Chinese government official allegedly sent Wang a pre-written article titled ‘China’s Stance on the Xinjiang Issue.’
‘There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production. Spreading such rumor is to defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability,’ the message read, according to prosecutors.
Court documents say Wang reposted the material to her website within minutes and then sent the official a link proving it had been published.
‘So fast, thank you everyone,’ the official allegedly responded.
Authorities say Wang repeatedly reported analytics and audience engagement data back to Chinese officials after publishing propaganda articles.
In one August 2021 exchange cited in the plea agreement, Wang sent screenshots showing an article had received more than 15,000 views after officials requested edits to the story.
‘Great!’ the official responded, according to prosecutors.
‘Thank you leader,’ Wang replied.
Federal prosecutors say Wang never disclosed that the Chinese government was directing the content appearing on her website.
The case became even more alarming to investigators because Wang ultimately ascended into public office.
‘Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,’ First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement announcing the plea agreement.
Federal authorities say Wang helped operate a website called US News Center that posed as a Chinese-American news outlet to distribute pro-Beijing propaganda inside the United States
Federal investigators say Wang’s alleged propaganda network intersected with operatives tied to high-level Chinese Communist Party functions attended by Xi Jinping, raising alarm about Beijing’s influence efforts inside the United States
Wang has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison
‘This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions,’ he added.
Essayli later issued an even more chilling warning about the implications of the case.
‘Ms. Wang is just the latest to act as an agent for the PRC and it should terrify Americans that she was able to rise to the highest levels of local office in her city,’ he said.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Wang’s rise to political office while allegedly maintaining undisclosed ties to Chinese officials represented a serious national security concern.
‘Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,’ Eisenberg said.
‘It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed,’ he added.
The FBI also issued stark warnings alongside the announcement.
‘By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government,’ said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.
‘Let this serve as a clear warning: Individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice,’ Rozhavsky added.
Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said Americans should be ‘alarmed’ by the allegations.
‘All Americans should be alarmed to learn an elected official was brazenly spreading propaganda on behalf of the Chinese government,’ Grandy said.
According to prosecutors, Wang’s activities also connected her to figures already convicted in separate federal China-related cases.
Her former fiancé, Sun, pleaded guilty in 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government and is now serving a four-year federal prison sentence.
Federal authorities say Sun played a key role in cultivating Wang politically while allegedly working with Chinese handlers hoping she would gain influence in California government.
Prosecutors say Wang and Sun coordinated with Chinese officials while building Wang’s political profile in Arcadia.
Sun also served as campaign manager for Wang’s successful City Council run.
In another extraordinary detail revealed in court documents, Wang allegedly communicated in November 2021 with John Chen – described by prosecutors as a high-level figure connected to China’s intelligence apparatus who had personally met Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended elite Communist Party events.
According to the plea agreement, Wang asked Chen to share one article from her website and wrote: ‘This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.’
Chen was later sentenced in federal court in New York after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal agent of China and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
Wang had previously tried to distance herself from Sun after he was charged in 2024.
‘We broke up the fiance relationship,’ Wang told the Arcadia City Council at the time. ‘We keep the friendship.’
Facing growing public outrage, Wang refused to resign then and insisted she was ‘not responsible for the action of others.’
But Monday’s plea agreement dramatically changed the picture.
In the filing, Wang admitted she acted under the control of Chinese officials inside the United States and acknowledged she never notified the US Attorney General that she was operating as an agent of a foreign government.
She also admitted she failed to disclose that some content on her website had been posted at the direction of Chinese officials.
