By FRED SHUSTER | City News Service
The former mayor of Arcadia pleaded guilty Friday to a federal charge for secretly working to illegally promote the interests of China prior to her election to the city council.
Eileen Wang, 58, of Arcadia, stepped down as the city’s mayor and resigned from the council when felony charges were announced May 11.
She pleaded guilty to one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government, which carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 6.
According to her plea agreement, Wang and her then-fiancé Mike Sun operated the website U.S. News Center, aimed at the Chinese American community, and followed the instructions of Chinese government officials to post articles favorable to Beijing without prior notification to the U.S. government as required by law.
In one example cited in the agreement, Wang was directed through an encrypted message to publish an essay refuting reports by human rights groups of the persecution, forced labor and abuse of the Uyghur population in China’s Xinjiang province.
The essay was meant to explain “China’s stance on the Xinjiang issue — there is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production,” the message read. “Spreading such rumor is to defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development.”
Minutes later, Wang posted the article, making changes to the piece at the direction of a Chinese government official over the next few months, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.
In a statement, Wang’s lawyers, Brian Sun and Jason Liang, said she “recognized the seriousness of this charge and has agreed to accept responsibility for her past mistakes.” The attorneys said Wang’s illegal conduct was carried out in her personal capacity, not in her position as an elected official.
At the time, Wang was engaged to Sun, her attorneys said. Wang has said the relationship ended in spring 2024. The defense attorneys’ statement refers to “her trust and love for apparently the wrong person who ultimately led her astray.”
At the direction of the Chinese government, Sun organized a team to help elect Wang to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sun was listed as the campaign treasurer.
Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, pleaded guilty in October 2025 to the same charge Wang is facing and is serving a four-year prison term.
Arcadia city manager Dominic Lazzaretto said in a news release that no city finances or staff were involved.
“We want to be clear: this investigation concerns individual conduct, and the charges are for conduct that ceased after Ms. Wang was sworn into office in December 2022,” he said.
In announcing the case against Wang, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement that people “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.”