Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang has been charged in federal court with allegedly acting as an illegal agent of China. Wang has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the Chinese government, federal prosecutors said.
Wang was charged in April with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. She was accused of doing the bidding of Chinese officials, such as sharing articles favourable to Beijing, without prior notification to the US government as required by law.
Wang Accused Of Promoting Chinese Propaganda
Federal prosecutors say that from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yaoning 'Mike' Sun operated under the direction and control of China government officials. They allegedly worked with individuals based in the US to advance Beijing's interests, including by promoting pro-China propaganda through US News Centre a website presented as a news outlet for the local Chinese American community. Prosecutors also allege that Wang and Sun were instructed by Chinese government officials to post pro-China content on it.
For example in June 2021, a government official sent Wang a link to a letter to the editor published in the Los Angeles Times written by the the consul general of the People's Republic of China in Los Angeles. The piece refuted reports of the persecution, forced labour, and abuse of Uyghers in China's Xinjiang province, stating, "There has never been genocide in Xinjiang or forced labour in the region's cotton fields or any other sector." Wang shared the link on her news site within minutes. The US and several other countries have declared that Beijing's policies against the Uyghurs amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity.
Mayor Wang admitted to acting as a foreign agent from at least 2020 through 2022 - promoting Chinese propaganda in the US and acting at China's direction to promote their interests. She has agreed to resign from office and plead guilty, FBI Director Kash Patel said on X (formerly Twitter).
FBI Director Kash Patel on X
Wang Agrees To Plead Guilty
Federal officials said she has agreed to plead guilty to the felony, which comes with a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Wang's attorneys Jason Liang and Brian Sun said in a statement that she recognises the seriousness of the charge and accepts responsibility for "past personal mistakes."
"She apologises and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life,” Wang's attorneys Jason Liang and Brian Sun said in a statement. "Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver," reported Associated Press.
Wang 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.
Arcadia is located about 13 miles (21 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles. The city of about 53,000 is majority Asian and has a high concentration of Chinese residents.
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