"Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, was charged in April with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. She was accused of doing the bidding of Chinese officials, such as sharing articles favorable to Beijing, without prior notification to the U.S. government as required by law."
"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."
"Federal officials said she has agreed to plead guilty to the felony, which comes with a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Wang's attorneys Jason Liang and Brian Sun said in a statement that she recognizes the seriousness of the charge and accepts responsibility for "past personal mistakes.""
"According to her plea agreement, Wang and a colleague, Yaoning "Mike" Sun, worked on behalf of government officials for the People's Republic of China from the end of 2020 to 2022 to promote their interests by promoting pro-PRC propaganda in the U.S. Sun is serving a four-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to the same charge last October."
Eileen Wang, mayor of Arcadia in Southern California, agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for a foreign government and resigned from her city position. She was charged with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Federal allegations said she carried out directives from Chinese officials, including sharing articles favorable to Beijing, without notifying the U.S. government as required by law. Officials said no city finances or staff were involved and that the conduct at issue ended after she was sworn into office in December 2022. The felony carries a maximum federal prison sentence of 10 years. Her attorneys said she accepts responsibility for past personal mistakes and apologized, while her devotion to the community remains unchanged. Her plea agreement states she worked with Yaoning “Mike” Sun from late 2020 to 2022 to promote PRC interests through pro-PRC propaganda in the U.S.
#foreign-influence #illegal-agent #china-united-states-relations #arcadia-california #federal-criminal-case
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