Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang pleads guilty to acting as a Chinese secret agent in the U.S.
Who is Eileen Wang? Southern California Mayor Quits Following Shocking Chinese Spy Reveal
Ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a bombshell revelation has hit the headlines.
A Southern California mayor, who was charged in April with acting as an illegal foreign agent in the U.S. has now agreed to plead guilty.
Eileen Wang, the 58-year-old mayor of Arcadia, California, was accused of doing the bidding of Chinese officials.
She has now resigned from her post and awaits a maximum jail term of 10 years behind bars in a federal prison.
What Are the Charges Against Eileen Wang?
An X post by FBI Los Angeles regarding the case involving Eileen Wang.
Wang was elected to the five-member city council in November 2022. Prior to that, she worked for officials linked to the People’s Republic of China between late 2020 and 2022.
During her tenure, she allegedly helped spread pro-China propaganda in the United States, including content denying Xinjiang abuses.
Wang also shared articles favorable to Beijing without notifying the United States government, as required by law.
However, her deeds were eventually unveiled and she faced one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government in April 2026.
Now that Wang has resigned, she now needs to appear in federal court and make a formal plea in the coming weeks.
According to CNN, Wang's lawyers, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, said that the former mayor accepts responsibility for “past personal mistakes.”
They stated, “She apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life.”
“Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver,” the attorneys added.
Meanwhile, Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto informed that no city finances were affected during Wang’s time in office.
“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,” Lazzaretto said.
Eileen Wang’s Former Colleague Faced Similar Charges in 2025
FBI Counterintelligence and Espionage Division Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky releases a statement regarding the Eileen Wang case.
Meanwhile, Wang was reportedly not operating alone. According to her agreement plea, she and her colleague Yaoning "Mike" Sun worked together in publishing pro-China content under direct instruction from Chinese government officials.
In October 2025, Sun pleaded guilty to the same charge that Wang is now facing.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Sun is now serving a four-year jail sentence.
Further, alongside Sun, Wang also alleged to have communicated with John Chen.
According to reports, Chen is another individual who pleaded guilty to working as an agent for the Chinese government and has been sentenced to 20 months in prison.
The Daily Mail reported that Chinese officials contacted Wang through the encrypted messaging app WeChat.
Therein, they sent articles and directives, among which, one piece denied allegations of genocide and forced labor in China's Xinjiang region.
Meanwhile, Wang and Sun’s imprisonment has led Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, to issue a formal warning to foreign agents operating in the U.S.
Rozhavsky told the DOJ, “By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government. Let this serve as a clear warning: individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice.”