The Global Story: The American mayor accused of working for China
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 24 May 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The mayor of the Californian city of Arcadia has agreed to plead guilty to charges she acted as an illegal agent for China. Prosecutors say Eileen Wang was directly co-ordinating with a Chinese official to disseminate news stories downplaying human rights concerns in China, with the aim of trying to influence US government and public opinion.
US authorities say the extent of China’s covert activity and espionage in the United States goes well beyond this case. According to the FBI, Chinese counterintelligence and espionage efforts are a “grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States”.
We speak to Andrew Badger, former CIA case officer and co-author of The Great Heist: China's Epic Campaign to Steal America's Secrets.
The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts
Producer: Viv Jones and Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: Eileen Wang. Credit: City of Arcadia City Hall/ Reuters)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | Hey there, I'm Asma Khalid. |
| 0:07.9 | And I'm Tristan Redmond, and we're here with a bonus episode for you from the Global Story podcast. |
| 0:13.1 | The world order is shifting. Old alliances are fraying and new ones are emerging. Some of this |
| 0:19.7 | turbulence can be traced to decisions made in the United States. |
| 0:23.4 | But the U.S. isn't just a cause of the upheaval. |
| 0:26.7 | Its politics are also a symptom of it. |
| 0:29.8 | Every day we focus on one story, looking at how America and the world shape each other. |
| 0:35.0 | So we hope you enjoy this episode. |
| 0:37.1 | And to find more of our show, just search for the global story, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. |
| 0:45.0 | Thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome. |
| 0:50.9 | And it really was a magnificent welcome like none other. |
| 0:54.8 | Last week was all about America in China. And today's story on the global story is about |
| 1:01.7 | China in America. This morning, growing national security concerns after a Democratic mayor in California |
| 1:07.7 | admitted to secretly working for China. |
| 1:10.8 | Eileen Wing was the mayor of Arcadia, California. |
| 1:14.3 | It's a small city just outside of L.A. |
| 1:16.3 | She'd been in the job for only three months when last Monday she abruptly resigned. |
| 1:22.8 | Federal prosecutors say former Arcadia mayor, Eileen, pushed pro Beijing propaganda and worked with a convicted |
| 1:30.0 | Chinese agent to operate a fake news site in the U.S. She has resigned from office and could face up to 10 |
| 1:36.0 | years in prison. A few days later, we got another intriguing story. |
| 1:41.0 | We are falling some breaking news right now, and the man accused of running a secret police |
... |
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