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Eileen Wang, Arcadia mayor accused of being Chinese foreign agent ...
Eileen Wang, an Arcadia city leader facing charges of acting as an illegal foreign agent of China, resigned Monday after reaching an agreement to resolve the federal case.Wang, who served as mayor of the San Gabriel Valley suburb, entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors over charges that she acted under the control of the People’s Republic of China to promote propaganda in the U.S. between 2020 and 2022, according to court filings.Wang, who was previously elected to the City Council in November 2022, stepped down as mayor on Monday hours after the plea agreement was unsealed. Arcadia officials and Wang’s attorneys said the conduct described by federal authorities occurred before Wang was elected.Wang appeared in federal court in downtown Los Angeles during a brief hearing Monday, where a judge instructed her lawyers to set a date when she would formally enter a guilty plea.The maximum sentence for the charge is 10 years in prison. Dressed in a blue suit jacket and skirt and accompanied by four lawyers, Wang listened to the proceeding through a Mandarin interpreter. She sniffled throughout the hearing, wiping at her eyes and her nose with her hand and a tissue. The magistrate judge ordered a $25,000 bond and for her to surrender all of her passports and travel documents. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda B. Elbogen asked that the judge order Wang to refrain from any communication with the Chinese government, including consular officials in the U.S.“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in a statement Monday. “This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions.”In a statement, Wang’s attorneys, Brian A. Sun and Jason Liang, said “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. She asks for the community’s understanding and continued support,” her attorneys said.The city of Arcadia’s website said Wang was “vacating her position” and the process of selecting someone to step in as mayor would begin at the next City Council meeting.“We understand this news raises serious concerns, and we want to be direct with our community about what we know and where we stand,” City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto said in a statement. “The allegations at the center...
Who Is Eileen Wang? California Mayor Resigns After Chinese Agent Plea
Former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, federal prosecutors announced Monday. The admission places a sitting U.S. elected official at the center of a foreign influence case tied to undisclosed coordination with Beijing-linked officials. Wang, a Democrat who was elected in 2022, now faces up to 10 years in prison and has resigned from her post. Federal prosecutors are moving forward with the case, while local officials assess the impact on the Southern California community.Although there has been no official response from China, Beijing has previously described the charges as a witch hunt. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Embassy for comment. Wang, 58, is a Southern California politician who was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 and later became mayor through the body’s rotating leadership system.In Arcadia, the mayor is selected from the five-member council, a structure that elevated Wang to the role after her initial election to public office....A longtime resident, she became the first Chinese-American woman elected to the council, helping make it majority female for the first time. Before entering politics, Wang was active in local civic and business organizations, including the Arcadia Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, and served as president of the American Southwest Chamber of Commerce USA from 2018 to 2022.She ran on a platform emphasizing community engagement and public safety and took part in local initiatives during her tenure, including organizing events and supporting victims following the 2023 Monterey Park mass shooting.Wang resigned from the city council on Monday, stepping down as mayor following federal charges as the case proceeds.Newsweek has reached out to the Arcadia City Council via email on Monday afternoon for comment.What Prosecutors Say She DidAccording to a Justice Department press release, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun worked from late 2020 through 2022 at the direction of Chinese government officials to promote pro-Beijing messaging in the United States. The DOJ said the pair operated a website called U.S. News Center that presented itself as a news outlet for the local Chinese American community while publishing content directed by officials from the People’s Republic of China.In one example cited by prosecutors, a Chinese official sent Wang pre-written material via WeChat, including content denying human rights abuses in Xinjian...
Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang Will Plead Guilty to Working as Chinese Agent ...
Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, Calif., resigned on Monday after federal prosecutors announced they had charged her with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.
Eileen Wang resigns, will plead guilty to acting as Chinese agent | CNN
A Southern California mayor has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government, and has resigned from her city position, officials said Monday.
