Eileen Wang Was Once ‘Woman of the Year’
A California political scandal is exploding after a former mayor who admitted to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government was revealed to have been honored just last year as “Woman of the Year” by Democratic Rep. Judy Chu.
The former official, Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang, resigned this week after agreeing with federal prosecutors that she worked on behalf of the People’s Republic of China by helping spread pro-Beijing propaganda through a fake news operation targeting Chinese Americans in the United States.
Now attention is turning toward the long list of California political figures who publicly celebrated Wang before her downfall — including Chu, who praised her extensively while presenting the congressional honor in 2024.
At the time, Chu described Wang as a leader with a “strong voice, leadership, and dedication to serving her community.” In announcing the award, Chu’s office said recipients went through an “exhaustive process” involving nominations from community members and evaluation by those familiar with the honorees’ service records.
“With a focus on advocating for heightened public safety standards, ensuring financial responsibility and transparency in the City budget, and enhancing the overall quality of life for all residents, Hon. Wang is dedicated to making Arcadia an even better place to live,” Chu wrote while celebrating Wang publicly.
The optics now look disastrous.
Despite the supposedly thorough vetting process, Wang was simultaneously involved in operations prosecutors now say were directed by Beijing. According to court documents, Wang and her then-fiancé Yaoning “Mike” Sun operated a website called “U.S. News Center,” which presented itself as an independent news outlet serving Chinese Americans. Federal authorities say the site was actually being used to distribute propaganda directed by the Chinese government between 2020 and 2022.
Wang formally acknowledged those activities in a deal with prosecutors this week and resigned from office as part of the agreement.
The scandal has triggered fresh scrutiny of California Democrats’ relationships with politically connected Chinese-American figures tied to influence operations or organizations linked to Beijing. After news of Wang’s admission broke, observers noticed that Chu had quietly removed Wang from her endorsement page while leaving other endorsements intact.
Chu’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the award or Wang’s ties to the Chinese government.
The controversy is also reviving past criticism directed at Chu involving concerns over Chinese Communist Party influence. In 2023, Rep. Lance Gooden questioned Chu’s judgment after she defended Dominic Ng, a businessman accused by critics of maintaining ties to CCP-linked organizations. At the time, lawmakers from both parties condemned Gooden’s remarks as racially charged and inappropriate.
Now Wang’s case is likely to intensify those broader debates again.
Photos circulating online show Wang appearing alongside several high-profile California Democrats over the years, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Senator Alex Padilla. Wang had previously shared images of herself with major political figures across social media before later making her accounts private. Neither Bonta’s office nor Padilla’s office immediately commented on the controversy.