California mayor charged with acting as Chinese agent (original) (raw)

An American flag flies above gas prices displayed at a gas station on May 11, 2026 in Arcadia, California. Agence France-Presse

LOS ANGELES — A woman who served as mayor of a California city has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, the Department of Justice said Monday.

Eileen Wang, 58, the mayor of Arcadia, a city just north of Los Angeles with a population of about 50,000, has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, the department said in a statement.

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Wang resigned from her post as mayor on Monday, according to the Arcadia City Council’s website.

READ: California man charged with acting as Chinese agent to influence local election

Acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison in the United States.

The Justice Department said Wang and an accomplice, Yaoning Sun, promoted pro-Chinese propaganda through a website they operated called US News Center serving the local Chinese American community.

“Wang and Sun received and executed directives from (Chinese) government officials to post (pro-Chinese) content on the website,” it said.

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READ: Romance revealed in China’s alleged scheme to influence local election

Sun pleaded guilty in 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and is serving a four-year prison sentence.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing this week and meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. /dl

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