{"id":10739,"date":"2026-05-29T21:35:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10739"},"modified":"2026-05-29T21:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:35:07","slug":"ex-arcadia-mayor-pleads-guilty-to-working-as-agent-of-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10739","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Arcadia mayor pleads guilty to working as agent of China"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By FRED SHUSTER<\/strong> | City News Service<\/p>\n

The former mayor of Arcadia pleaded guilty Friday to a federal charge for secretly working to illegally promote the interests of China prior to her election to the city council.<\/p>\n

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Eileen Wang, 58, of Arcadia, stepped down as the city\u2019s mayor and resigned from the council when felony charges were announced May 11.<\/p>\n

She pleaded guilty to one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government, which carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n

Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 6.<\/p>\n

According to her plea agreement, Wang and her then-fianc\u00e9 Mike Sun operated the website U.S. News Center, aimed at the Chinese American community, and followed the instructions of Chinese government officials to post articles favorable to Beijing without prior notification to the U.S. government as required by law.<\/p>\n

In one example cited in the agreement, Wang was directed through an encrypted message to publish an essay refuting reports by human rights groups of the persecution, forced labor and abuse of the Uyghur population in China\u2019s Xinjiang province.<\/p>\n

The essay was meant to explain \u201cChina\u2019s stance on the Xinjiang issue \u2014 there is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as \u2018forced labor\u2019 in any production activity, including cotton production,\u201d the message read. \u201cSpreading such rumor is to defame China, destroy Xinjiang\u2019s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China\u2019s development.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Minutes later, Wang posted the article, making changes to the piece at the direction of a Chinese government official over the next few months, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Wang\u2019s lawyers, Brian Sun and Jason Liang, said she \u201crecognized the seriousness of this charge and has agreed to accept responsibility for her past mistakes.\u201d The attorneys said Wang\u2019s illegal conduct was carried out in her personal capacity, not in her position as an elected official.<\/p>\n

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At the time, Wang was engaged to Sun, her attorneys said. Wang has said the relationship ended in spring 2024. The defense attorneys\u2019 statement refers to \u201cher trust and love for apparently the wrong person who ultimately led her astray.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the direction of the Chinese government, Sun organized a team to help elect Wang to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office. Sun was listed as the campaign treasurer.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, pleaded guilty in October 2025 to the same charge Wang is facing and is serving a four-year prison term.<\/p>\n

Arcadia city manager Dominic Lazzaretto said in a news release that no city finances or staff were involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In announcing the case against Wang, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement that people \u201cin our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy. This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China\u2019s efforts to corrupt our institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Eileen Wang entered her plea to a single federal count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEx-Arcadia mayor pleads guilty to working as agent of China - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10739\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-Arcadia mayor pleads guilty to working as agent of China - 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