Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, a city in California, has admitted to secretly serving as an illegal agent for China in the United States. The 58-year-old has since resigned, merely months after being sworn in as Arcadia’s mayor, succeeding Sharon Kwan, the city’s first Asian female mayor.

In addition to admitting to the serious allegations of doing the bidding of Chinese officials, Wang agreed to plead guilty to the felony count of acting in the US as an illegal agent of a foreign government, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday, May 11 (US time).

In her plea agreement, Wang confessed that officials of the People’s Republic of China government directed her and her ex-lover to promote “pro-PRC propaganda” in the US before she was sworn in as the mayor of the California city, as disclosed by the DOJ this week. Wang has also admitted to her lack of transparency regarding acting as an agent of the PRC while in the US.

Consistent with Wang’s confession, City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto highlighted in a news release that no other staff member was involved in the operation. “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.

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Here’s what we know about Eileen Wang.

Who is Eileen Wang?

Although born in China, stellar reviews of the school system and Eileen Wang’s desire for the best education for her two sons drew her to Southern California, which is over 50% Asian, about three decades ago, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Her mother was a Chinese medicine and acupuncture doctor, and her father was a physician in Sichuan province before he was employed by the University of Southern California.

In November 2022, she was elected to the Arcadia City Council, a five-person governing body from which the city’s mayor is picked every nine and one-half months, allowing each member to serve as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem once during their four-year term. Wang’s election that year marked a historic milestone, as it was the first time the council comprised a majority of women, and the first time Arcadia had four Asian Americans in charge.

Even before her election to the council, Wang served as a community leader and educator. For years, she was also involved in local groups like the Arcadia Lions Club and the Arcadia Association of Realtors.

In February 2026, Sharon Kwan passed the baton to Wang, who was then sworn in as Arcadia’s new mayor about four years after her council appointment.

Regarding Wang’s political affiliation, she previously admitted to voting for Republican presidential candidates in the past, but eventually switched her support to former Vice President Kamala Harris (Democratic Party) in 2024, as per the LA Times.

What did Eileen Wang do as an illegal agent for China?

Alongside a co-worker, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, Eileen Wang was directed by Chinese government officials to promote the Asian country’s interests in the US. Sun also served as campaign manager for her City Council run.

Both individuals operated US New Center, a website that presented itself as a news source for the local Chinese American community, the DOJ news release stated. Through this website, Wang and Sun posted “pro-PRC content” online on behalf of Chinese government officials.

Sun, on his part, pleaded guilty in October 2025 and is serving a four-year federal prison sentence. At one point, Wang and Sun were also in a relationship, which the politician said ended in 2024, the same year as prosecutors charged Sun, The New York Post reported.

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With these operations taking place from late 2020 through 2022, a June 2021 instance involved a Chinese official contacting Wang and others via WeChat. Pre-written news articles, including a “PRC official-written essay in the Los Angeles Times,” were shared on the encrypted messaging application.

According to the Justice Department, the LA Times article stated, “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. Spreading such rumour to do defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development[.]”

Shortly after receiving the messages, Wang posted the article on her own website and shared a link to the article with the Chinese officials. Others in the group chat followed suit. Satisfied with the quick response, the Chinese official wrote back, “So fast, thank you everyone,” as detailed by the DOJ.

Months later, another such instance saw Wang and three other group chat members sharing links to the same article on their respective so-called news websites. The Chinese official again thanked them for their “reporting.” Thereafter, Wang was told to edit the article, and she reported back accordingly after making the requested changes.

At one point, Eileen Wang also interacted with John Chen, a high-level member of the “Chinese intelligence apparatus.” He often attended elite Chinese Communist Party events, including military parades.

In November 2021, Wang asked Chen to post an article from her website, writing, “This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.”

Chen, who has personally met Chinese President Xi Jinping, was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the PRC and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

What’s next for Eileen Wang?

The FBI is leading the investigation related to this matter.

Expected to plead guilty in the next few weeks, the Chinese-born politician is expected to make her initial appearance in US District Court in downtown Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. The charge puts her at a risk of facing a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Her attorneys Jason Lian and Brian Sun said that Wang knew the gravity of the situation and is ready to accept responsibility for “past personal mistakes.”

“She apologises and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life,” they said, as quoted by CNN. “Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver.”