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Eileen Wang: 5 things to know as former California mayor pleads guilty to acting as a Chinese agent
The plea was made in federal court in downtown Los Angeles by Eileen Wang, 58, who resigned as Arcadia's mayor this month.
In a formal admission to a federal allegation that had already compelled her to retire from public office, the former mayor of a city in Southern California, Eileen Wang, entered a guilty plea on Friday to acting as an agent of China.
Wang was charged in April with operating as an unauthorized agent of a foreign government within the United States. She entered a guilty plea to sharing stories that were beneficial to Beijing at the behest of Chinese authorities without first notifying the US government as required by law.
The plea was made in federal court in downtown Los Angeles by Wang, 58, who resigned as Arcadia's mayor this month. When she is sentenced on October 6, she might spend up to ten years behind bars.
5 things to know about Eileen Wang
1. Wang was the mayor of Arcadia. Wang served on the Arcadia City Council and later became mayor through the city's rotating mayoral system. Arcadia, located in Los Angeles County’s San Gabriel Valley, has a large Chinese American population.
2. Wang engaged with the foreign government as an agent before she was elected. In November 2022, the 56-year-old was elected to a five-member municipal council, from which the mayor is chosen on a rotational basis. According to federal prosecutors, Wang engaged in illicit activity between late 2020 and 2022. According to Wang's lawyers and Arcadia city officials, it was terminated prior to her taking office.
According to the city, its internal investigation revealed no evidence of any involvement with city funds, personnel, or decision-making.
3. Wang and her former fiancé were involved in bidding for Chinese officials. According to her plea deal, Wang and Yaoning "Mike" Sun, her fiancé at the time, promoted propaganda on the US News Center website on behalf of People's Republic of China officials.
Prosecutors cited a June 2021 incident in which a Chinese government official sent Wang a Los Angeles Times opinion piece by China's consul general denying allegations of genocide, forced labor, and abuse of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Wang allegedly reposted the article on her website within minutes.
The United States and several other countries have classified China's treatment of Uyghurs as genocide and crimes against humanity.
Wang’s attorneys said she was misled by her former fiancé, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, describing her actions as the result of “trust and love for apparently the wrong person.”
4. Her former fiancé is already serving prison time. Sun entered a guilty plea to the same crime in October of last year and is currently serving a four-year term.
He was also identified in campaign documents as Wang's 2022 campaign treasurer.
5. Wang is currently out on bail. While awaiting punishment, Wang is still free on a $25,000 bail.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli previously said in a statement, “Individuals in 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’s efforts to corrupt our institutions.”
