Two convicted Chinese spies played a pivotal role in shaping the political career of a Southern California politician who, unbeknownst to the public, was taking directives from Beijing. The former mayor of Arcadia, Eileen Wang, owes her rise to the involvement of Yaoning “Mike” Sun and John Chen, as revealed by court documents.
Sun, under the supervision of Chen, was integral to Wang’s successful 2022 campaign for the Arcadia City Council, acting as her campaign manager and business associate. Unbeknownst to voters, their efforts were part of a larger agenda orchestrated by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Following Wang’s election victory, Chen instructed Sun to inform their PRC contacts, heralding Wang as a “new political star.” Wang was described as someone who would oppose Taiwanese independence and maintain allegiance by reporting back to China, according to Chen’s communication with his PRC handler.
The response from the Chinese official was one of approval: “That’s great!”
Wang would âgo against Taiwanese independenceâ and âreport to China,â Chen reported to his PRC spymaster.
The Chinese official responded: âThatâs great!â
Chen told Sun to make a list of politicians that Wang was friendly with, adding: âthe more the better, the higher position the better.â
He also bragged to Beijing about they could turn local U.S. politicians against Taiwanese independence, according to the documents.
The mayor of Arcadia is selected from the Council on a rolling basis.
Chen was sentenced in 2024 to 20 months in prison for acting as an unregistered agent of the Peopleâs Republic of China and bribing an Internal Revenue Service agent.
While in custody, Chen told his cellmate that he was a Chinese spy and his agency is â100 times better than the FBI,â court documents say.
Sun, who was also Wangâs lover and fiancé, was charged in 2024 with conspiracy and acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
Wang dumped him, saying âWe broke up the fiancé relationship — we keep the friendship.â
Sun pled guilty to his charges and in February was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison.
Wang resigned her job as mayor and pled guilty Monday to the charge of acting as an illegal agent for a foreign government. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
