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Arcadia Mayor Resigns, Will Plead Guilty to Acting as Unregistered Agent for China

The case spotlights foreign-directed propaganda moving through diaspora media in U.S. communities.

Overview

  • Wang, who agreed Monday to plead guilty, resigned from Arcadia’s council and faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
  • Prosecutors say she ran a site called U.S. News Center from late 2020 through 2022 at the direction of Chinese officials to publish pro‑Beijing content without the required disclosure.
  • Court filings cite WeChat exchanges where a PRC official sent prewritten pieces, including a Xinjiang denial, and Wang posted them within minutes and replied, “Thank you leader.”
  • Her onetime colleague Yaoning “Mike” Sun is serving a four‑year sentence and was tied to her 2022 campaign, and she also messaged John Chen, who later received a 20‑month sentence.
  • City leaders say the conduct stopped after she took office and used no city resources, and a formal plea with possible immigration consequences is expected in the coming weeks.