The mayor of Arcadia, a largely Chinese-American suburb of Los Angeles in California, has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, U.S. authorities confirmed on Monday.
Eileen Wang, 58, also resigned from the Arcadia City Council and her rotating mayoral role shortly after the case was made public, according to the city manager’s office.
She appeared briefly before a federal magistrate judge, where attorneys were instructed to set a future date for her formal guilty plea. Her bail was set at US$25,000, and proceedings were conducted with the assistance of a Mandarin interpreter.
Court documents show Wang agreed in a plea deal to admit guilt to a felony charge of acting as a foreign agent of the Chinese government without notifying the U.S. Department of Justice. The offence carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the case reflects concerns over covert foreign influence operations, adding that individuals secretly acting on behalf of foreign governments undermine democratic systems.
According to the plea agreement, Wang admitted to promoting pro-China messaging under the direction of Chinese officials between late 2020 and 2022, before and during her tenure as a city councillor.
Prosecutors said she helped manage a website called “U.S. News Center”, which was presented as a community news platform for the local Chinese-speaking population but allegedly functioned as a propaganda outlet for Beijing.
The filing states that Wang published content supporting Chinese government narratives, including material disputing allegations of human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
She also reportedly responded to a Chinese official with the message “Thank you leader” after receiving praise for her work.
Wang was said to have worked closely with associate Yaoning “Mike” Sun, who previously identified himself as her fiancé and served briefly as a campaign adviser. Sun was earlier sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal foreign agent.
Prosecutors also linked the case to John Chen, described in court documents as an intelligence-linked figure with ties to senior Chinese officials, who was previously convicted in a related case.
Wang’s legal team said she apologises and regrets her actions, while stressing that the alleged conduct occurred before she assumed office in December 2022.
City officials added that no municipal funds, staff involvement, or city decision-making processes were implicated in the case.
