California mayor resigns after pleading guilty to acting as Chinese agent

The Mayor of the Californian City of Arcadia, Eileen Wang, has resigned and agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of China, a Reuters report said, citing the US Department of Justice. The 58-year-old politician is expected to plead guilty in federal court in Los Angeles in the near future.

As per the federal prosecutors, Wang, along with her then fianc, Yaoning 'Mike' Sun, have been charged with promoting pro-China propaganda on behalf of the Chinese government in the United States.

"Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy," said First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California.

"This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China's efforts to corrupt our institutions," Essayli said in a statement.

As per reports, Sun is presently serving a four-year term in jail after he pleaded guilty in a federal court last October. In a related filing, Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony count, which comes with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The two worked at the direction and control of Chinese government officials to promote Beijing's interests by, among other things, promoting pro-PRC (People's Republic of China) propaganda in the United States.

The duo also ran US News Centre, a website that purported to be a news source for the local Chinese American community. They also received and executed directives from Chinese government officials to post pro-China content on the website.

In her guilty plea, Wang admitted that she did not notify the Attorney General that she was acting in the United States as an agent of China. She also did not disclose on her website that some of its content had been posted at the direction of members of the Chinese government.

The former Mayor was elected in November 2022 to the Arcadia City Council, a five-person governing body from which the mayor is selected on a rotating basis.

- Ends