A mayor of a southern Californian city has resigned after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) charged her with acting as an illegal agent of China.
Eileen Wang, 58 – the mayor of Arcadia – agreed to plead guilty to the felony count and Arcadia City Council said she resigned from her post on Monday.
Wang could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Her lawyers, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, said in a statement on her behalf that “she apologises and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life”.
First assistant US attorney Bill Essayli said: “This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions”.
Wang is accused of following directions from Chinese officials, according to the DoJ, including sharing favourable articles about Beijing without informing the US government, as required by law.
She was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 – a five-member governing body where each member takes on the role of mayor on a rotating basis.
Wang accepts responsibility for “past personal mistakes”, her lawyers said in the statement.
“Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver,” the statement added.
According to the DoJ, Wang worked alongside Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, to operate US News Center – a website that claimed to be a news source for Chinese Americans living in Arcadia.
An example used by the DoJ points to a Chinese government official sending Wang pre-written news articles via the WeChat encrypted messaging app.
One article denied allegations of forced labour and abuse in China’s Xinjiang province.
Shortly after being sent the link, Wang shared it on US News Center and responded to these Chinese official, the DoJ said.
Taking to the Arcadia city website, Dominic Lazzaretto, the city’s manager, said: “The allegations at the centre of this case, that a foreign government sought to exert influence over a local elected official, are deeply troubling. We take them seriously.
“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. Following an internal review, we can confirm that no City finances, staff, or decision-making processes were involved.”
