California mayor charged with acting as Chinese agent

CHINA.WIRE

California mayor charged with acting as Chinese agent
Los Angeles, United States, May 11 (AFP) May 11, 2026
A woman who served as mayor of a California city has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, the Department of Justice said Monday.

Eileen Wang, 58, the mayor of Arcadia, a city just north of Los Angeles with a population of about 50,000, has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, the department said in a statement.

Wang resigned from her post as mayor on Monday, according to the Arcadia City Council's website.

Acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison in the United States.

The Justice Department said Wang and an accomplice, Yaoning Sun, promoted pro-Chinese propaganda through a website they operated called US News Center serving the local Chinese American community.

"Wang and Sun received and executed directives from (Chinese) government officials to post (pro-Chinese) content on the website," it said.

Sun pleaded guilty in 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and is serving a four-year prison sentence.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing this week and meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.