Aileen Wang: Five things you need to know about former California mayor pleading guilty to being a Chinese agent
The former mayor of a Southern city has formally pleaded guilty to a federal charge that has forced her to retire from public office. californiaEileen Wang pleaded guilty on Friday to serving as a Chinese agent.
Wang was charged in April with acting as an unauthorized agent of a foreign government in the United States. She pleaded guilty to sharing stories favorable to Beijing at the request of Chinese authorities without first notifying the U.S. government as required by law.
Wang, 58, who resigned as Arcadia mayor this month, made the plea in federal court in downtown Los Angeles. She could spend up to a decade in prison when she is sentenced on Oct. 6.
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5 things you need to know about Wang Ailing
1. Wang served as mayor of Acadia. Wang served on the Arcadia City Council and later became mayor through the city’s rotating mayor system. Arcadia, located in Los Angeles The county’s San Gabriel Valley has a large Chinese-American population.
2. Wang had contacts with foreign governments as an agent before his election. In November 2022, the 56-year-old was elected to the five-member city council, with the mayor elected on a rotating basis. According to federal prosecutors, Wang engaged in illegal activity between late 2020 and 2022. That event was terminated before she took office, according to Wang’s attorney and Arcadia city officials.
According to the city, its internal investigation found no evidence of any involvement in the city’s funding, personnel or decision-making.
3. Wang and her ex-fiancé ran for office in China. According to her plea agreement, Wang and her then-fiancé “Mike” Sun Yaoning campaigned on behalf of People’s Republic of China officials on the U.S. News Center website.
Prosecutors cited an incident in June 2021 when a Chinese government official sent Wang a Los Angeles Times op-ed by China’s consul general denying allegations of genocide, forced labor and abuse of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Wang allegedly retweeted the article on her website within minutes.
The United States and several other countries have classified China’s treatment of the Uyghurs as genocide and crimes against humanity.
Wang’s lawyer said she had been misled by her ex-fiancé Sun Yaoning, saying her actions were the result of “trust and love for the wrong person.”
4. Her ex-fiancé is already serving time in prison. Sun pleaded guilty to the same crime last October and is currently serving a four-year sentence.
He is also identified in campaign documents as Wang’s 2022 campaign treasurer.
5. Wang is currently out on bail. Wang remains free on $25,000 bail while awaiting punishment.
U.S. Attorney General Bill Essaly said in a statement, “There are those in our country who covertly take orders from foreign governments and undermine our democracy. This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend our homeland and oppose China’s corruption of our institutions.”
