California Mayor Eileen Wang charged with acting as illegal agent of China

Eileen Wang. Pic/X

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Monday that Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of China.

From late 2020 to 2022, the FBI said that Wang and Yaoning "Mike" Sun worked at the direction and control of Chinese government officials and coordinated with US-based individuals to promote China's interests through several things, such as promoting pro-China propaganda in the United States via the US News Centre.

As per the FBI it is "a website that purported to be a news source for the local Chinese American community, and they received and executed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website." Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to the felony count, which comes with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

As per the press statement by the Department of Justice, it was noted that she is expected to make her initial appearance this afternoon in the US District Court in downtown Los Angeles and is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks.

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.

Sharing an example of her collusion with China, the Department of Justice, in its press statement, said that in June 2021, a PRC official contacted Wang and other individuals via the WeChat encrypted messaging application with pre-written news articles.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg called it "deeply concerning" how a person who previously executed directives of PRC government officials was in a position of public trust.

"Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. "This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China's efforts to corrupt our institutions."

In Wang's case, Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division said that this must serve as a clear warning that individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence America's democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice.

On her being charged, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X, assuring that federal partners continue to move aggressively to root out this kind of influence in American institutions all over the country. As per the official website of the city of Arcadia, Eileen Wang has resigned from the Arcadia City Council, vacating her position as Mayor.

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