POOJA SALHOTRA2026年5月13日Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, Calif., resigned on Monday after federal prosecutors announced they had charged her with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government. She will plead guilty to the charge, according to a plea deal unsealed the same day.加州阿卡迪亚市市长王爱琳(Eileen Wang)周一辞职，此前联邦检察官宣布对她提出指控，称她作为中国政府的非法代理人行事。根据同一天公开的认罪协议，她将对这项指控认罪。The felony charge comes with a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.这项重罪指控最高可判处10年监禁。The court document outlined Ms. Wang’s efforts, beginning in late 2020 and continuing until at least the end of 2022, to operate a purported news website called U.S. News Center that circulated pro-China content at the direction of Chinese government officials. Ms. Wang covertly worked with a man in Southern California named Mike Sun, a Chinese national, to disseminate the information.法庭文件详细描述了王爱琳从2020年底开始、至少持续到2022年底的行为：她运营一个声称为新闻网站的“U.S. News Center”，在中国政府官员的指示下传播亲中国内容。她秘密与身在南加州的中国公民孙耀宁合作，散布这些信息。Mr. Sun, who is also known as Yaoning Sun, was sentenced in February to four years in prison for his role in the operation. He was previously engaged to Ms. Wang and had worked on her election campaign as the treasurer, according to public records. Ms. Wang, 58, was elected in November 2022 to the Arcadia City Council, and the mayor is selected from the five-person council on a rotating basis.孙耀宁于今年2月被判刑，因参与该行动被判处四年监禁。他曾是王爱琳的未婚夫，根据公开记录，他还担任过她竞选活动的财务主管。王爱琳现年58岁，于2022年11月当选阿卡迪亚市议会议员，市长一职由五人议会成员轮流担任。“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement. “This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions.”美国加州中区第一助理检察官比尔·埃塞利在声明中表示：“在我们国家，暗中为外国政府效劳的人会破坏我们的民主。这份认罪协议是我们决心保卫家园、抵御中国对我们的制度腐蚀的最新成果。”The Chinese government has exerted influence over local elections across the United States to advance its interests, targeting the Chinese American community in particular. In some cases, federal investigators have arrested the leaders of covert operations.中国政府一直试图影响美国各地的地方选举以推进自身利益，尤其针对华裔美国人社区。在某些案件中，联邦调查人员逮捕了秘密行动的领导人。According to the plea agreement, Ms. Wang posted propaganda directed to a Chinese American audience. In one example, Ms. Wang was told through an encrypted message to publish an essay “explaining China’s stance on the Xinjiang issue — there is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production,” the message read. “Spreading such rumor is to defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development.”根据认罪协议，王爱琳发布了针对华裔美国受众的宣传内容。其中一个例子是，有人通过加密消息指示她发布一篇文章，“解释中国在新疆问题上的立场——新疆没有种族灭绝；任何生产活动，包括棉花生产，都不存在‘强迫劳动’。”消息称：“散布此类谣言是为了诽谤中国，破坏新疆的安全稳定，削弱当地经济，压制中国的发展。”A few minutes later, Ms. Wang posted the article. Over the next couple of months, she made tweaks to the article at the direction of a Chinese government leader.几分钟后，王爱琳就发布了该文章。在接下来的几个月里，她按照中国政府领导人的指示对文章进行了修改。In another instance cited in the court documents, she sent a pro-China article from her site to Mr. Sun and asked him to help distribute it. In a message, she told him, “This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.”法庭文件引述的另一个例子是，她将自己网站上的一篇亲中文章发给孙耀宁，并要求他帮助传播。她在消息中告诉他：“这是外交部想要发出的内容。”In a statement, Ms. Wang’s lawyers, Brian A. Sun and Jason Liang, said she “recognized the seriousness of this charge and has agreed to accept responsibility for her past mistakes.” The statement emphasized that her misconduct was carried out in her personal capacity, not in her position as an elected official. Brian Sun is not related to Mike Sun.王爱琳的律师布莱恩·A·孙（音）和杰森·梁（音）在一份声明中表示，她“认识到这项指控的严重性，并同意为过去的错误承担责任”。声明强调，她的违规行为是以个人身份实施的，并非以当选官员的身份。布莱恩·孙与孙耀宁没有亲属关系。When Mike Sun was charged and sentenced, he was accused of helping a politician he considered friendly to Chinese interests win a seat on the City Council. The population of Arcadia, in Los Angeles County, is about 59 percent Asian American, according to census data.在被起诉和判刑时，孙耀宁被指控帮助一名他认为对中国利益友好的政治人物赢得市议会席位。根据人口普查数据，洛杉矶县的阿卡迪亚市约59%的人口为亚裔美国人。Prosecutors did not name Ms. Wang in the documents charging Mr. Sun, but other details in those court documents pointed to her as the council member who was discussed.检察官在起诉孙耀宁的文件中并未点名王爱琳，但这些法庭文件的其他细节指向她就是所涉议员。Ms. Wang tried to distance herself from Mr. Sun in the months since he was sent to prison, but she faced increasing pressure to resign.自孙耀宁入狱以来，王爱琳试图与他保持距离，但她面临越来越大的辞职压力。Another man, John Chen, who prosecutors said served as a go-between for Mr. Sun and the Chinese government, was sentenced in 2024 to 20 months in prison for acting as an illegal foreign agent.另一名男子约翰·陈（音）被检察官指为孙耀宁与中国政府之间的中间人，于2024年因担任非法外国代理人被判处20个月监禁。The Arcadia City Council will select a new mayor during its next meeting, the city manager, Dominic Lazzaretto, said in a statement.阿卡迪亚市城市经理多米尼克·拉扎雷托在声明中表示，市议会将在下一次会议上选出新市长。“The allegations at the center of this case — that a foreign government sought to exert influence over a local elected official — are deeply troubling,” Mr. Lazzaretto said. He added that no city finances or staff members were involved, according to an internal review.拉扎雷托说：“本案核心的指控——外国政府试图对地方民选官员施加影响——令人深感不安。”他补充说，根据内部审查，市政府的资金或工作人员均未参与其中。Pooja Salhotra报道全美突发新闻。翻译：纽约时报中文网点击查看本文英文版。