California mayor, 58, who loves to photoshop her pictures tries to blame her BOYFRIEND after pleading guilty to being Chinese spy

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:09, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 14:11, 9 June 2026 A California mayor who admitted to acting as an agent for the Chinese government tried to blame her boyfriend for 'leading her astray' in the espionage plot. Eileen Wang, 58, the ex-mayor of Arcadia, pleaded guilty last month to acting as an illegal foreign agent for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and faces up to 10 years in prison.  But ahead of her sentencing, Wang's attorneys attempted to downplay her role, saying in a statement that she was in hot water due to 'her trust and love for apparently the wrong person who ultimately led her astray.' The remarks have raised eyebrows, given Wang's age and life experience. Wang was also known for heavily photoshopping her official photos to make herself look far younger.  Prosecutors accused her of working in concert with her fiancé Mike Sun, 56, who her attorneys reportedly described as having lured her into the scheme, claiming she was more of a puppet than driver of the ploy,  per The New York Times.  Prosecutors said Wang and Sun pushed messaging and propaganda through US News Center, a Chinese-language website and news outlet for Chinese-American readers.  She used the site to push pro-Beijing articles and 'execute directives' from Chinese government officials, prosecutors said, and then report audience numbers back to the CCP.  Content on the site included defenses for China's crackdown on Uyghur Muslims, transcripts of news conferences given by Chinese officials, and political ads for the Chinese government.  At the same time, Wang was also working as a real estate agent, cafe owner, and founder of the American Southwest Chamber of Commerce, a business group that brought together Chinese businesspeople in California.  Former Arcadia, California mayor Eileen Wang, 58, who admitted to acting as an agent for the Chinese government tried to blame her boyfriend for the espionage plot Wang's former boyfriend Mike Sun, 56, was sentenced in November to also acting as a Chinese agent, and she alleged that it was his fault for 'leading her astray' When she ran for Arcadia City Council in 2022, Wang touted herself as the first Asian American female candidate for the role, in a city where the Asian population had exploded in recent years. At the time, Sun was listed as her campaign treasurer, and by late 2022 he was described as her fiancé.  When she won her place on the city council, Wang thanked Sun as her 'leader' in her victory speech, and on her first day on the job she attended a business meeting with Sun in attendance.  Those who knew Wang said she showed seeming endless enthusiasm for showing up to events while in office, often with Sun by her side.  April Verlato, a former Arcadia mayor who sat on the council with Wang, told the New York Times: 'He took her to everything.'  She added that China-related issues were almost unheard of in their council agenda, while Wang continued her focus on her business commerce group.  Prosecutors allege that Wang 'executed directives' from the CCP to post propaganda articles online at the same time she was working on the city council, even as her coworkers now say they couldn't tell she was working as an illegal agent.  'She just votes, and I don’t even remember how she votes,' Arcadia city councilwoman Sharon Kwan told the Times.  Wang exits federal court in Los Angeles after pleading guilty on charges of acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government on Friday, May 29, 2026 China used Wang's then fiance, Yaoning 'Mike' Sun to spy on Taiwan via the US. Chen has been described as closely tied to China’s intelligence apparatus and who had personally met Chinese President Xi Jinping at elite Communist Party events (Xi and Chen are seen above) Chen Jun (pictured), who Yaoning 'Mike' Sun allegedly conspired with, was sentenced to prison in November for bribery and acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government According to court filings, Chinese officials sent Wang articles and directives through the encrypted messaging app WeChat, instructing her and others to publish content favorable to the Chinese Communist Party. In one instance in June 2021, a government official sent Wang a pre-written article titled 'China's Stance on the Xinjiang Issue.' The piece refuted reports of the persecution, forced labor, and abuse of Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province, stating, 'There has never been genocide in Xinjiang or forced labor in the region´s cotton fields or any other sector.' Prosecutors said the relationship continued through Wang stepping down from her commerce group in July 2023, however newly released court filings cited by the outlet showed her ties to Sun continued for some time after. This included a trip to Los Angeles from China together in September 2023 - just one month before Sun was federally charged, and he later pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government.  In February, he was sentenced to 48 months in prison. Prosecutors said he conspired with Chen Jun, who in November was sentenced for bribery and acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government.  As rumors over an investigation into Sun swirled before he was charged, Wang tried to distance herself from him in September, telling a city council meeting that he was never her fiancé.  She said he was merely an 'ex-boyfriend', and challenged anyone in attendance to provide evidence to the contrary.  'Please prove it,' she said at the time. 'I am very proud of myself... I always stand with our country.' Wang has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison The case against Wang also triggered intense scrutiny of her carefully crafted public image. Campaign photos and promotional images used during her political rise depicted Wang in heavily polished and retouched portraits that projected a glamorous and approachable persona to voters. But unedited public images revealed a stark contrast to the stylized campaign photographs that once appeared across city political materials and social media. Wang's attorneys, in a statement released earlier this month, said that she recognizes the seriousness of the spying charge and accepts responsibility for 'past personal mistakes.' 'She apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life,' the statement said. 'Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.