NZ Herald Afternoon Headlines | Thursday May 14, 2026
The Mayor of Arcadia, California, has resigned after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese Government, according to US federal prosecutors.
Eileen Wang, 58, is accused of covertly promoting Beijing-approved content in the United States without registering as a foreign agent, a crime that carriesa maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice.
Wang resigned from her position on May 11 after the unsealing of her plea agreement.
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, according to the Department of Justice.
The misconduct occurred before she took office and did not involve city resources, said Arcadia official Dominic Lazzaretto, Associated Press reports.
“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” 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.”
According to her plea agreement, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, worked at the behest of Chinese Government officials from late 2020 through 2022.
Sun is serving a four-year federal prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, according to the Department of Justice.
Former mayor Eileen Wang is accused of covertly promoting Beijing-approved content in the United States. Photo / Getty Images
Wang and Sun operated a news website publishing pro-China content for the local Chinese American community.
One instance the Department of Justice gave was a pre-written article from Chinese officials arguing there was no genocide happening in China’s Xinjiang region.
Prosecutors alleged Chinese officials put the article in a shared group chat and Wang reposted it on her news website.
“There is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production,” the article read. “Spreading such rumor to do defame China [sic], destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development.”
Minutes after the request, Wang posted the article on her website and responded to the official with a link to the article on her website. The others in the group chat did the same.
The official responded: “So fast, thank you everyone.”
Wang’s attorneys released a statement saying she recognised the seriousness of the matter and accepts responsibility for “past personal mistakes”, Associated Press reports.
“She apologises and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life,” Wang’s attorneys said in a statement.
“Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver.”
