{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1735185,
        "msgid": "us-mayor-admits-to-being-a-secret-chinese-agent-this-is-her-fate-1778608550",
        "date": "2026-05-12 21:30:00",
        "title": "US Mayor Admits to Being a Secret Chinese Agent, This Is Her Fate",
        "author": "",
        "source": "CNBC",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Politics",
        "summary": "Former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang has pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, promoting pro-Beijing propaganda through a website from 2020 to 2022 without disclosing her activities to US authorities. She faces up to 10 years in prison and has resigned from her position, with her lawyers emphasising that the actions were personal and unrelated to her public duties. The case raises significant concerns about foreign influence in US politics, emerging just before a planned meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping to discuss critical issues like trade and Taiwan.",
        "content": "<p>Former Mayor of Arcadia, an affluent area on the outskirts of Los\nAngeles in the United States, has shockingly admitted to her actions as\nan illegal agent of the Chinese government. Eileen Wang, the 58-year-old\npublic official, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of acting as a\nforeign agent without official permission from US authorities. Citing Al\nJazeera on Tuesday (12\/05\/2026), the US Department of Justice revealed\nthat Wang conducted her covert activities from late 2020 until 2022.\nDuring that period, she was known to have promoted various pro-Beijing\npropaganda at the direction of Chinese government officials without\nreporting her status to the US government. Wang officially resigned from\nher position as Mayor of Arcadia on Monday. In her admission, she\noperated a website called US News Center, which was claimed to be a news\nportal for Chinese-American citizens, but in reality was used to\ndisseminate narratives supporting the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC).\nWang\u2019s activities also included republishing official Chinese government\nessays that denied allegations of genocide against the Uyghur ethnic\nminority in Xinjiang. In carrying out her actions, Wang collaborated\nwith a California man named Yaoning Sun, who had previously been\nsentenced to four years in prison in October 2025 for similar charges.\nIn response to the case, Wang\u2019s lawyers, Brian A Sun and Jason Liang,\nexpressed apologies for the mistake made by their client in her personal\nlife. They emphasised that the activities were not related to Wang\u2019s\nduties as a public official, but purely personal matters conducted with\nsomeone she believed to be her fianc\u00e9 at the time. \u201cIt is important to\nnote that the conduct underlying this agreement with the government\nsolely relates to Mrs Wang\u2019s personal life\u2014that is, the media platform\nshe once operated with someone she believed to be her fianc\u00e9\u2014and not\nconduct as an elected public official,\u201d stated Sun and Liang. The two\nlawyers added that Wang\u2019s love and dedication to the Arcadia community\nhas never changed. They also requested understanding and continued\nsupport from the local community regarding the situation facing the\nformer mayor. However, US Assistant Attorney General for National\nSecurity, John A Eisenberg, expressed deep concern over these findings.\nAccording to him, it is deeply troubling when someone holding public\ntrust has secretly received and carried out instructions from foreign\nofficials. \u201cIt is deeply troubling that someone who previously received\nand executed instructions from PRC government officials is now in a\nposition of public trust, especially since that relationship with a\nforeign government was never disclosed,\u201d said Eisenberg. Eileen Wang now\nfaces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for her actions. This case\nhas emerged just as US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with\nChinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss crucial\nissues ranging from the Iran war, trade, to Taiwan\u2019s status.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-mayor-admits-to-being-a-secret-chinese-agent-this-is-her-fate-1778608550",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}