Former California Mayor Admits Acting as Chinese Spy

The former mayor of Arcadia, a city on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California, United States, has pleaded guilty to acting as a foreign agent for the Chinese government. The former mayor, named Eileen Wang, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Wang, a Democrat politician from Southern California, as reported by Japan Times and Newsweek on Tuesday (12/5/2026), admitted to spreading pro-China propaganda under the direction of Chinese government officials.

She confessed to acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China in the US territory. This is outlined in court documents made public on Monday (11/5) local time.

Wang, aged 58, previously served as Mayor of Arcadia, a city with a population of 55,000 located about 24 kilometres northeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. Before that, she was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022.

She became Mayor of Arcadia through the city’s rotating leadership system, where a mayor is selected from among the five city council members. She made history as the first Chinese-American woman to serve on the Arcadia City Council.

Wang resigned from the city council on Monday (11/5) and relinquished her position as Mayor of Arcadia after being charged by the US federal government as the case progressed.

In the case against her, Wang was accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of using a news website she managed to publish pro-China content under the direction of Beijing government officials between 2020 and 2022.

One such piece of content was an essay denying genocide and forced labour in Xinjiang.

A man suspected of collaborating with Wang in the pro-China propaganda scheme pleaded guilty last October and is currently serving a four-year prison sentence.

“Based on her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government,” said Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, Roman Rozhavsky, in a statement.

“Let this serve as a clear warning: individuals acting on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to court,” he emphasised.

Wang could face a maximum of 10 years in prison if found guilty by the court. She is expected to deliver her formal plea in a trial scheduled for the coming weeks.