Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang’s former fiancé, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, was sentenced last week to four years in prison after being convicted of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, producing pro-Communist Chinese media, as well as executing orders from the Chinese government.
Wang has taken to denying her connection to Sun since his legal troubles emerged, but she has publicly referred to him as her fiancé in the past. Wang is not currently being investigated for any wrongdoing in connection with the case. She did not immediately respond to National Review‘s request for comment.
In October 2025, Sun pleaded guilty to one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
“For years, Sun received and executed taskings from Chinese government officials, distorted our public discourse by disseminating Chinese propaganda, and surveilled groups in the United States that China viewed as threatening its interests as part of a campaign of intimidation,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement.
From at least 2022 to 2024, Sun acted as an agent of the People’s Republic of China and failed to notify the attorney general, which is required by law in the United States.
Throughout this time, Sun worked to help elect a person referred to as “Individual 1” to a city council seat in an undisclosed location. Sun and “Individual 1” also worked together, at the direction of the Chinese government, to create a post and disperse pro-PRC propaganda in the United States.
In December of 2022, Wang made a public statement about Sun during a city council meeting.
“To my fiancé, Mike Sun, who walked streets with me every single day, who is a real leader of me,” Wang said at the time, according to CBS News.
Following the charges brought against Sun, Wang changed the characterization of her relationship with Sun.
“No. 1, he’s not my fiancé,” Wang said in September 2025. “Whoever wants to say he’s my former fiancé, please prove it.”
Sun also surveilled the president of Taiwan when she visited Southern California in April 2023, and then shared the information he collected with the PRC, according to the Department of Justice.
Sun’s work for the Chinese government continued, including a request for $80,000 to plan a pro-PRC demonstration in Washington, D.C., on the Fourth of July. He expressed concern over Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang independence and continued to communicate with the PRC through an official at the consulate general in Los Angeles regarding Taiwanese activity in Southern California.
“His conduct represents a brazen violation of our national sovereignty,” Eisenburg said. “This sentence reflects our commitment to prosecuting those who would extend the authoritarian reach of the Chinese government on U.S. soil.”