{"id":2601438,"date":"2026-05-11T19:31:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T23:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-mayor-charged-with-spying-for-china\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T19:33:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T23:33:07","slug":"california-mayor-charged-with-spying-for-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-mayor-charged-with-spying-for-china\/","title":{"rendered":"California mayor charged with spying for China"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-mayor-charged-with-spying-for-china%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2601438&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Arcadia, California mayor Eileen Wang was federally charged with acting as an illegal agent of China, accused of helping promote Beijing-backed pro-China propaganda in the United States. The DOJ says Wang worked with Chinese officials between 2020 and 2022 and that she received and helped disseminate articles denying allegations of genocide and forced labor in Xinjiang, including content published through outlets such as the *Los Angeles Times*. Wang agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, which carries up to 10 years in prison, and is expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles and enter her plea in the coming weeks. The DOJ also alleges Wang failed to disclose her role as a foreign agent to U.S. authorities and communicated with a China intelligence-linked figure named John Chen.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>The mayor of Arcadia, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"60\">California<\/a>, was charged with acting as an illegal agent for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"232\">China<\/a> after allegedly helping promote Beijing-backed propaganda in the United States. <\/p>\n<p>Eileen Wang, 58, elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022, was charged with one count of acting in the U.S. as an illegal agent of a foreign government, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-cdca\/pr\/arcadia-mayor-federally-charged-acting-illegal-agent-peoples-republic-china\">according to<\/a> the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4563740\/doj-nationwide-crackdown-tren-de-aragua\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DOJ charges over 25 people in nationwide crackdown on Tren de Aragua<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/4563416\/paxton-sues-netflix-spying-tracking-data\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Ken Paxton sues Netflix for \u2018spying\u2019 on users and tracking data<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4563087\/rand-paul-calls-doj-charge-fauci-final-day-statute-limitations\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Rand Paul calls for DOJ to charge Fauci on final day before statute of limitations expires<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Wang agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, in a related filing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>She is expected to make her initial appearance Tuesday afternoon in federal court in downtown <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/los-angeles\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1221\">Los Angeles<\/a> and plead guilty in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndividuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,\u201d Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fbi\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"516\">FBI<\/a> Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky, who is with the bureau\u2019s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, said Wang \u201csecretly served the interests of the Chinese government,\u201d adding that people who act on behalf of foreign governments \u201cto influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the DOJ, Wang and Yaoning \u201cMike\u201d Sun worked with Chinese government officials between 2020 and 2022 to promote pro-China propaganda in the U.S. Sun is serving a four<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >-year federal prison sentence<\/a> after pleading guilty in 2025 to acting as an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russian-court-extends-detention-of-us-journalist-to-dec-5\/\" title=\"US journalist&#039;s detention extended by Russian court until December 5.\">illegal foreign agent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors said that in June 2021, a Chinese official sent Wang and others prewritten articles through the encrypted messaging app WeChat, including material denying allegations of genocide and forced labor in Xinjiang. <\/p>\n<p>The DOJ said Wang was sent a PRC official-written essay in the <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em> that stated, \u201cChina\u2019s Stance on the Xinjiang Issue \u2013 There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as \u2018forced labor\u2019 in any production activity, including cotton production. Spreading such rumor to do defame China, destroy Xinjiang\u2019s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China\u2019s development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Court documents also allege Wang communicated in 2021 with John Chen, described by prosecutors as a high-level member of China\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-top-pentagon-official-blasts-biden-his-comments-about-chinas-genocide-are-outrageous\/\" title=\"Former Top Pentagon Official Blasts Biden: His Comments About ...\u2019s Genocide Are \u2018Outrageous\u2019\">intelligence apparatus<\/a> with ties to Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the DOJ, Wang asked Chen to share an article from her website, writing, \u201cThis is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/op-eds\/4562436\/why-does-us-often-face-two-chinas\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/op-eds\/4562436\/why-does-us-often-face-two-chinas\/\">WHY DOES THE US OFTEN FACE TWO CHINAS?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Chen was sentenced in 2024 to 20 months in prison after pleading guilty in New York to acting as an illegal agent of China and conspiring to bribe a public official.<\/p>\n<p>According to her plea agreement, Wang admitted she did not notify the U.S. attorney general that she was acting as an agent of the Chinese government and failed to disclose that some content on her website had been posted at the direction of Chinese officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arcadia mayor charged for allegedly promoting China-backed propaganda as an illegal agent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4195,"featured_media":2601439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26062319238897.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4045,3649,4602,9541],"class_list":["post-2601438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-california","tag-charged","tag-mayor","tag-spying"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26062319238897.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2601438"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2601442,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601438\/revisions\/2601442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2601439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2601438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2601438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2601438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}