City of Arcadia councilmember, Eileen Wang is present at the Asian Hall of Fame 2023 welcoming event, October 21, 2023, in Los Angeles.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, California, has been accused of acting as an unregistered overseas representative for China, the Justice Department declared Monday.
Wang consented to enter a guilty plea, according to the DOJ.
The City of Arcadia stated that Wang stepped down from her role on Monday.
Beginning in late 2020, Wang and Yaoning "Mike" Sun collaborated to manage a site known as U.S. News Center that "represented itself as a media source for the regional Chinese-American populace."
City of Arcadia, councilmember, Eileen Wang attends the Asian Hall of Fame 2023 induction ceremony, October 21, 2023 in Los Angeles.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
The Justice Department revealed in a plea arrangement that Wang and Sun "obtained and carried out instructions from PRC (People's Republic of China) government officials to publish pro-PRC material on the website, and sometimes sought authorization from PRC government representatives to disseminate supplementary pro-PRC material."
In one case during November 2021, Wang desired to spread an item regarding the Chinese and Russian ambassador requesting Americans to honor the PRC's "democratic rights."
"This is what the Foreign Ministry wishes to distribute," she mentioned.
Within her plea agreement, she acknowledged not informing the chief law officer that she was in service of the PRC.
"Individuals voted into civic office within the United States must function solely for the American people whom they embody," expressed Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. "It raises serious questions that an individual previously accepting and fulfilling directives from PRC government figures now occupies a position of public confidence at all, particularly since that link with the foreign government was never divulged."
Sourse: abcnews.go.com