The American Mayor Accused of Secretly Working for China | The Global Story

Why It Matters

The allegations underline a growing U.S. focus on prosecuting covert influence and foreign-agent activity tied to China, signaling legal and political risks for diaspora-linked media and local officials and intensifying scrutiny of Beijing’s global influence tactics. This could prompt tighter enforcement of FARA and heightened counterintelligence efforts at local and federal levels.

Summary

Last week Arcadia, California mayor Eileen Wang abruptly resigned after federal prosecutors charged her with acting as an undeclared agent of the People’s Republic of China, alleging she ran a China-directed news site "US News Center" to shape coverage of sensitive issues and reported results back to handlers via WeChat. Prosecutors say Wang accepted direction to downplay human-rights concerns in Xinjiang and failed to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act; she has agreed to plead guilty. The case was discussed alongside other recent actions, including a New York conviction over a secret Chinese police outpost, as part of a wider pattern U.S. officials say shows covert Chinese influence and surveillance efforts on American soil. Experts on the program noted such activity fits a broader United Front-style approach of deploying many small influence operations that cumulatively sway public opinion.

Original Description

A mayor of a southern Californian city has resigned after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) charged her with acting as an illegal agent of China.

Eileen Wang, 58 - the mayor of Arcadia - agreed to plead guilty to the felony count and Arcadia City Council said she resigned from her post last Monday.

Wang could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Her lawyers, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, said in a statement on her behalf that "she apologises and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life".

US authorities say the extent of China’s covert activity and espionage in the United States goes well beyond this case.

According to the FBI, Chinese counterintelligence and espionage efforts are a “grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States”.

We speak to Andrew Badger, former CIA case officer and co-author of The Great Heist: China's Epic Campaign to Steal America's Secrets.

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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:57 Who is Eileen Wang?

05:00 What was Eileen Wang accused of doing?

07:00 Why would the Chinese recruit Eileen Wang?

08:19 How many people in the USA are working for China?

14:49 Is Chinese espionage different to US espionage?

21:00 What is the scale of China's espionage?