International News: Mayor of Californian city resigns after charge of acting as Chinese Agent
By Zoila Palma: Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, has resigned after the United States Department of Justice charged her with acting as an illegal agent of China. Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, according to the Arcadia City Council, which confirmed her resignation on Monday. She could face up to […] The post International News: Mayor of Californian city resigns after charge of acting as Chinese Agent appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Black News 
By Zoila Palma: Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, has resigned after the United States Department of Justice charged her with acting as an illegal agent of China.
Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, according to the Arcadia City Council, which confirmed her resignation on Monday. She could face up to 10 years in prison.
According to the Department of Justice, Wang followed directions from Chinese officials, including sharing articles favorable to Beijing without informing the US government as required by law.
Prosecutors alleged that some of the content involved denying allegations of forced labour and abuse in China’s Xinjiang province, BBC reports.
The DoJ said Wang received pre-written articles through the encrypted messaging app WeChat and later posted them on a website known as US News Center.
The Department of Justice also alleged that Wang worked alongside Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, in operating the website, which presented itself as a news source for Chinese Americans living in Arcadia.
Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022, joining the city’s five-member governing body where the role of mayor rotates among council members.
In a statement released through her lawyers, Wang said she “apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life.” Her attorneys added that she accepts responsibility for “past personal mistakes” and said her “love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver.”
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli described the plea agreement as part of efforts to defend the United States against attempts by China to influence American institutions.
Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto said the allegations were “deeply troubling” and stressed that the investigation concerns individual conduct.
The post International News: Mayor of Californian city resigns after charge of acting as Chinese Agent appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
