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Arcadia Mayor

Arcadia Mayor Resigns After Agreeing to Plead Guilty to Acting As Illegal Agent for China

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The mayor of a Southern California city has stepped down after federal prosecutors announced she agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.

Eileen Wang, 58, who had served as mayor of Arcadia since February, agreed to plead guilty to one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government in the United States after admitting that she worked with another man to advance messaging favorable to the People’s Republic of China, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a May 11 news release.

Arcadia is located about 15 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city has roughly 54,000 residents, and about 59% of its population is Asian American, according to the U.S. Census.

Arcadia City Council stated that Wang resigned from her post on Monday. She is expected to formally enter the plea in the coming weeks, prosecutors said. The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Wang’s attorneys, Jason Liang and Brian Sun, said in a statement that Wang accepts responsibility for “past personal mistakes.”

“Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver,” they added.

“This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said.

“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy.”

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Wang’s alleged conduct occurred before she took office in Arcadia, according to city officials. She was sworn in to the City Council in December 2022 and became mayor earlier this year. Arcadia’s mayor is chosen from the five-member City Council on a rotating basis, allowing each council member to serve about 9.5 months during their 4-year term.

Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto said in a statement that the City Council will choose a new mayor at its next meeting.

“The allegations at the center of this case, that a foreign government sought to exert influence over a local elected official, are deeply troubling. We take them seriously,” Lazzaretto said.

“We want to be clear: this investigation concerns individual conduct, and the charges are for conduct that ceased after Ms. Wang was sworn into office in December 2022. Following an internal review, we can confirm that no City finances, staff, or decision-making processes were involved.”

City Council actions are taken by the body as a whole, and “no single member holds unilateral authority,” Lazzaretto added. “We have found no actions that require reconsideration or that are invalidated as a result of these developments.”

Federal prosecutors said Wang worked with Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, to promote Chinese government propaganda in the U.S. Sun is currently serving a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in October 2025 to the same foreign-agent charge.

Between late 2020 and 2022, Wang and Sun operated U.S. News Center, a website that appeared to be aimed at the region’s Chinese American community. The two posted pro-China content on the website at the direction of Chinese government operatives.

One example cited by prosecutors involved a June 2021 message from a Chinese government official to Wang and others in a group chat. The official allegedly sent pre-written articles, including one that had been published in the Los Angeles Times as a letter to the editor rejecting allegations of forced labor and genocide in China’s Xinjiang region.

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Wang later posted the same article to her website.

Two months later, in August 2021, Wang allegedly revised the article after the Chinese official requested changes. Prosecutors stated she then sent the official a link to the post and a screenshot showing it had received more than 15,000 views.

The official responded, “Great!” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Wang replied, “Thank you, leader.”

“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said.

“It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed.”

Prosecutors also described Wang’s connection to another man, John Chen, who was sentenced to 20 months in prison for acting as an unregistered agent and bribing an Internal Revenue Service agent.

Sun, meanwhile, had previously coordinated with Chinese officials on several efforts, including organizing support for a political candidate he described to Beijing as a “new political star.” The Los Angeles Times identified that candidate as Wang.

Sun served as Wang’s city council campaign adviser and was described by prosecutors as a “close personal confidante.” After Wang won election to the council, she and Sun attended a meeting with people Sun described as a team “dedicated” to Chinese interests, according to Sun’s plea agreement.

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U.S. to Revoke Visas for Chinese Students in Sweeping Crackdown, Escalating Tensions with Beijing

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The United States will begin “aggressively revoking visas for Chinese students,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday. The move is the latest in the Trump administration’s campaign to exert control over higher education institutions while threatening to inflame already strained U.S.-China relations.

Just weeks ago, both nations agreed to a 90-day pause on retaliatory tariffs as part of efforts to reduce economic tensions. This visa crackdown may erode those fragile gains and deepen the divide between the two nations, particularly in the realm of higher education, a long-standing pillar of cross-cultural exchange.

The proposed plan targets students who have “connections to the Chinese Communist Party” or are enrolled in what the Trump administration deems as “critical fields.” The State Department and Department of Homeland Security will also “revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”

The announcement triggered an immediate backlash from China. On Thursday, the Chinese Government filed a formal protest, slamming the policy as “politically motivated and discriminatory.”

Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemned the decision as a violation of international norms and a blow to “people-to-people exchanges.”

“This politically motivated and discriminatory move exposes the lie of America’s long-touted claim of being ‘free and open,’ and will only further damage the United States’ international image and national credibility.”

Chinese nationals were the largest group of international students in the U.S. for 15 consecutive years, accounting for roughly 25% of all foreign enrollees, before being overtaken by Indian students last year. Chinese students still number over 270,000, down from a peak of 372,000 in the 2019–2020 academic year, a decline that coincided with both the COVID-19 pandemic and rising geopolitical tensions.

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The policy announcement has reverberated through Chinese academic circles and American universities, where tuition from international students constitutes a crucial source of revenue. Confusion and frustration swept through China on Thursday as official media outlets maintained a notable silence for the majority of the day. Students enrolled in institutions across the United States found themselves in a state of shock.

“Ending up with only a high school diploma is something I dread,” said Candy, a statistics student at the University of Michigan who is currently visiting her family in China. “I pray to make it through my undergraduate study safely and smoothly. When I first heard the news, I wanted to curse Trump.”

For decades, U.S. universities have been a magnet for China’s best and brightest, drawing students from affluent families, political elites, and aspiring middle-class households.

Even China’s top leadership has ties to American academia: Xi Jinping’s daughter, Xi Mingze, quietly attended Harvard under a pseudonym. Prominent Chinese officials, such as Liu He, a former economic advisor to Xi Jinping, and Wang Huning, the Chinese Communist Party’s chief ideologue, both studied or conducted research in the United States.

“Many of China’s officials, entrepreneurs, and scientists — especially those who played key roles during the era of reform and opening-up — received their training in the US,” said Zichen Wang, a research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, a non-governmental think tank in Beijing.

“When they returned to China, they brought back not only professional knowledge and credentials but also a deep respect and admiration for America as an open and inclusive society.”

That spirit of mutual engagement has been in decline. Rubio’s announcement is the latest in a string of Trump-era efforts to restrict academic collaboration and limit student access. Last week, the administration attempted to ban Harvard University from enrolling international students, but a judge temporarily blocked the order.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday, U.S. embassies and consulates were directed to halt all new student visa appointments globally while the administration expands “social media screening and vetting” for applicants.

In response, a representative from China’s Foreign Ministry stated the next day that China is monitoring the situation closely and is calling on the United States to “protect the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of all international students, including those from China.”

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A key point of ambiguity lies in the U.S. government’s criteria. Rubio did not clarify which academic fields are considered “critical” nor how officials will determine which students are “connected to the Chinese Communist Party.” The CCP has nearly 100 million members woven into virtually every layer of Chinese society.

“If you count in all the friends and relatives, it wouldn’t be farfetched to say that almost everyone is somehow linked to the Communist Party in China,” Wang said.

Concerns over espionage and intellectual property theft have historically driven U.S. restrictions. During Trump’s first term, the administration barred graduates of Chinese universities with STEM degrees and alleged military ties from entering the United States on visas.

The controversial “China Initiative,” designed to counter Chinese spying in academia, was compared to the anti-Communism “red scare” of the 1950s and was later dismantled by the Biden administration following public backlash and allegations of racial profiling.

Educational and cultural exchange has in the past been one of the few stable areas of U.S.-China engagement, said Wang, who recently graduated from a master’s program at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

“Despite numerous challenges in bilateral relations, student exchanges remain one of the few genuine and impactful areas of engagement between the two countries. The fact that an announcement like this comes at a time when mutual trust between China and the U.S. is at a historic low is, in my view, quite saddening.”

Chinese officials have historically called for increased dialogue in this realm. While visiting San Francisco in late 2023, Xi Jinping pledged to invite 50,000 American students to study in China over the next five years. In June last year, he called for more exchanges between Chinese and American universities, emphasizing the role of educational ties in easing geopolitical tensions.

However, with only 800 American students now studying in China, a sharp decline from over 11,000 before the pandemic, the imbalance is stark. Unless diplomatic channels are repaired, that gap may continue to widen, with long-term consequences for both countries.

For now, Chinese students in the U.S. are holding their breath, unsure of whether they will be the next to lose access to their education and, with it, the dreams they carried across the Pacific.

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Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban, Set to Start on Sunday

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The popular social media platform TikTok could face a nationwide ban as early as this Sunday. On Friday, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal from TikTok’s owners, affirming a lower court’s ruling in favor of the federal ban on the app and stirring a whirlwind of speculation and concern among its millions of users.

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US and TikTok Draft Deal To Resolve National Security Concerns

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The Biden Administration and social media platform TikTok are drafting a deal to resolve concerns over the company’s data policies and its threat to U.S. national security. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.

The resolution would allow ByteDance to keep ownership of the company but would make changes to its “data security and governance,” according to The New York Times. The two parties are still negotiating the terms of the deal, which aims to protect American data from the Chinese government.

The Justice Department is steering the negotiations with TikTok. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who was also a national security official in President Obama’s administration, believes that the current agreement terms are not rigorous enough to adequately protect national security. The Treasury Department is also involved in the negotiations and is skeptical that the deal will sufficiently protect American data. The Treasury Department plays a significant role in approving agreements that have the potential to incite national security vulnerabilities.

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The hesitancy from the government may drag out the final resolution for months. TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew insists that the company is not interested in sharing U.S. data with the Chinese government and considers itself a “separate US-based entity subject to U.S. laws.” Chew asserts that TikTok has “not provided U.S. user data to the CCP, nor would we if asked.”

“Employees outside the U.S., including China-based employees, can have access to TikTok U.S. user data subject to a series of robust cybersecurity controls and authorization approval protocols overseen by our US-based security team.”

However, ByteDance still owns TikTok, and some ByteDance employees can still access TikTok user data. With midterms set for November, politicians turned their attention back to the security issue.

According to the deal, TikTok would store its American data on U.S. servers, likely run by the tech company Oracle, instead of its servers in Singapore and Virginia. Oracle would monitor TikTok algorithms for foreign government interference in user content recommendations. The worry is that the Chinese government will be able to use those recommendations to influence American users and politics. TikTok would also have to create a board of security experts to report to the U.S. government to oversee its actions.

Jake Williams, a former National Security Agency hacker, spoke about how Chinese government access to U.S. data creates a power imbalance between the two countries.

“Let’s assume for a second that U.S. intelligence has access to WeChat. They would have to fight hard for that access, and it would constantly be at risk of discovery and neutralization. China, on the other hand, doesn’t have to fight for access to TikTok; they have it by statutory authority.”

Williams continues, “the potential for Chinese data collection across the platform is a larger concern, especially when combined with other data already acquired by Chinese state actors.”

TikTok announced last week that it would ban political fundraising on its platform to prevent politicians from using it to grow their campaigns.

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In 2020, former President Donald Trump tried to force the sale of TikTok over similar national security concerns. TikTok initially agreed to sell a part of TikTok to Oracle, but the deal never came to fruition. The Biden Administration is taking a more nuanced approach to regulating the company’s access to American data.

Kian Vesteinsson, a research analyst for the nonprofit Freedom House, which advocates for political freedom, said that “there are definitely signs that Chinese influence efforts are likely to grow, linked to the Chinese government’s strategy more broadly of digital authoritarianism.”

“But it’s important for us to acknowledge that the U.S. government has its own shadowy national security surveillance authorities. And in recent years, U.S. government agencies have monitored social media accounts of people coordinating protests in the U.S. and done things like searched electronic devices throughout the country and at the border. These sorts of tactics undermine the idea that this is only a foreign threat.”

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US Looking Into Banning Tik Tok And Other Social Media Apps From China

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The United States is looking to potentially ban certain social media apps that come from China in an attempt to increase security access between the two countries. The main app that’s in question is Tik Tok, and according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the administration is taking this matter “very seriously.” 

Tik Tok alone has become one of the most popular social media apps on the internet currently. The free platform allows users to make videos that are up to a minute long and edit them with intricate filters, sound effects, music, graphics, and more. The feed algorithm on the app allows users timelines to be filled with content Tik Tok thinks you’ll like based on other posts you’ve liked and who you follow. 

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This specific algorithm is one of the reasons that Tik Tok has grown so much in popularity within the past year, as users can have any sort of interest and likely find a hashtag/page geared towards it. However, Pompeo made it clear in an interview with Fox News that Tik Tok was the administration’s number one priority in terms of platforms to potentially ban. 

Pompeo also went onto state that smartphone users should only download the app if “you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party,” however, a spokesperson working for Tik Tok in America was quick to refute these claims that the app gives personal information to the Chinese government. 

“TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy here in the US. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked.”‘

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The United States and China have been experiencing major tensions within the past few years in general. These recent remarks from Pompeo are likely a direct result of that as well. National security, trade, and technology was at the center of all tensions between the two nation’s governments, and once Covid-19 became an issue that stemmed from a market in China, the pressure began to boil over. 

Tik Tok is in fact owned by a Beijing-based startup company known as ByteDance, and has been often criticized by the US government for being a potential threat to national security due to its ties to China. Once again, the administration has been quoted multiple times alleging that the company “could be compelled to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,” despite there being no evidence to prove that. 

Tik Tok has made statements in the past regarding security and claims that the company operates through data centers located outside of China, so none of the data is subject to Chinese law. Data for US users specifically is stored in the US with backups in Singapore, according to the company. This past May an executive spokesperson claimed that “the national security concerns are unfounded.”

India’s government has also claimed they would ban Tik Tok and other Chinese apps due to a posed “threat to sovereignty and integrity,” which also likely fueled the US to follow suit. With over 40 million American users, however, it’s likely the app won’t be going anywhere without a good fight from social media users across the country.

US China Trade War

What Will The New Decade Bring For The US – China Trade War?

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One of the key issues of 2019 was the conflict between America and China, which seems likely to continue throughout 2020. While President Trump’s “war” against many of the top Chinese technology firms – including Huawei – has made headlines for most of the year, the stories that China has banned a majority of America’s consumer content-based technologies, or that there has been political pressure placed on many western technology giants could easily have been missed. However the new decade looks like there will be further restrictions placed on technology between countries.

One of the major factors has been the “splinternet” that has seen some governments decide which content its citizens can find online. Countries including China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Russia are continuing to filter what is being shown in their countries, however, there are many other countries around the world who appear to be having smaller restrictions on certain areas of content – including specific websites such as news sites, content sharing, communication platforms and the majority of social media.

While content censorship is increasing throughout the world, technology companies have continued their hold over many other countries. For instance, a majority of countries now use a desktop and mobile operating system that is favored by American companies. With travel rates also increasing, this has become a necessity with travelers expecting to step off an airplane in any given country and be able to connect to the internet from their device.

Back in December there was talk that Huawei – frustrated at America’s continuing ban resulting in them being unable to access American technology – is about to start creating their own Android software and services. As the world’s largest manufacturer of telecoms equipment – Huawei already has 42% of the Chinese market as well as over 25% of the Russian market – the likelihood of success seems increased. While other companies have tried to compete against Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android over the last decade, it seems the 20s could be the year of new operating systems.

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Also in December, the Chinese state media confirmed they would be launching an alternative to the United States’ GPS satellite navigation system. ‘Beidou’ has been seen as a major disconnection from the standard US technology with China stating that Beidou’s 35 satellites will be a higher standard than the current global gold standard GPS network.

With 70% of smartphones in China ready to utilize the new network it seems that the market is already there for Beidou – Chinese for “Big Dipper” – with the service working towards promoting 5G services and adoption.

However Beidou will not be restricted to China as there will be a major campaign to convert South East Asian, Eastern European and African markets to the new network. Working along the same vein as their new Belt and Road initiative, the GPS system will also provide higher accuracy levels that are usually kept for military or security specialists.

At the Council on Foreign Relations in November Ajit Pai, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission announced that “you don’t have to look hard to find evidence that the Chinese government is willing and able to use its growing influence over global commerce to advance its own interests.”

Pai’s words appear to be centered on the way China is utilizing its influence to reduce the recent criticism of its domestic policies as well as Huawei’s role in the investment of 5g networks worldwide.

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The beginning of 2020 is in stark contrast to the beginning of 2010. A decade ago there were many theoretical divides whereas now they’re becoming a reality. Due to the trade war many countries are finding themselves in a position where they have to decide between Chinese commerce and investment or America’s security and political engagement, with Russia’s President Putin referring to the issue as “the first technological war of the coming digital era,” highlighting the fact that this trade war could lead into something that could be much more powerful in the upcoming years.

So what will be happening in 2020? Canada is currently looking at the request from America to extradite Meng Wanzhou – Huawei’s CFO – while both Germany and the United Kingdom are still looking into whether they will allow Huawei into their networks.

Huawei are also launching their P40 device, which could lead to a competitor to Google’s software as well as their services throughout the worldwide markets.

The US Commerce Department is also due to make a decision on whether they will loosen supplier restrictions on companies based in the United States, which could affect the election during the second half of the year.

If there is a massive change in the way technology is used across the world there could be significant implications to travelers as well as consumers. While China would see an increase on its influence over the rest of the world, America could see a loss on their material market share.