Arcadia City Councilwoman Sharon Kwan denied ties to companies owned by the Chinese government as her council colleagues agreed to her request for a public hearing about the recent allegations.
At the council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Pro Tem David Fu and Councilman John Han agreed to Kwan’s request for a future agenda item to address the matter. A date for the hearing is not set, but Fu said it would be “soon,” possibly Oct. 5.
An infographic circulating online reported Kwan has seats on the boards of directors of “U.S. subsidiaries of a major Chinese energy company,” Shandong Xinchao Energy Corp.
According to the digital flyer that Fu said he “received online,” in July 2025 Kwan was appointed to the board of several U.S. subsidiaries of Shandong Xinchao. Two months prior, Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal Co. acquired controlling interest in Shandong Xinchao, leading to a board shake-up and eventual lawsuits in Delaware and Nevada.
“Regarding the directorship Councilmember David Fu is questioning, I served as a director of U.S. companies operating in Texas and received zero compensation — no salary, director fee, consulting fee or other payment,” Kwan said in an email to HeySoCal.com. “I am not aware of these companies ever having business before the Arcadia City Council or benefiting from any vote I cast. I welcome an independent review of my directorship and financial disclosures.”
According to The New York Times and other published reports, the Inner Mongolia Yitai is not a state-owned entity. Its similarly named parent company started in 1988 with small government backing, but the local government fully restructured it in 2001, the Times reported.
Fu said Kwan’s “participation in Chinese-owned companies … appear to be very similar to the allegations against our former Mayor Eileen Wang,” who resigned earlier this year after pleading guilty to participating in an intelligence operation orchestrated by the Chinese military.
“I think that what we would like to know is why she did not come forward to discuss these things until her role on this board of directors was disclosed to the public,” Fu said via email. “It does seem strange that she came forward at a very late point in time, after she has been making a lot of attacks against the city and the City Council for failing to act to investigate Eileen Wang, despite the explanation that we are not permitted to take that action under either the City Charter or applicable federal and state law. Given the appearance of her situation, it certainly seems like she would be subject to the same kind of investigation.”
Kwan emphatically denied the allegations.
“Let me be unequivocal: I have no ties to the Chinese Communist Party or any foreign government,” Kwan said.
She added that “Fu’s actions raise a much larger question about his commitment to transparency. When concerns involving Eileen Wang arose, I asked from the Council dais to bring the matter forward for public discussion. I received no support, and David Fu criticized me for raising the issue. …
“That should have taught us an important lesson: when credible questions about foreign influence arise, examine the facts instead of attacking the person asking the questions.”
Fu noted the timing of Kwan’s directorships with the Wang controversy.
“It appears Sharon was a board member in 2025, if not earlier,” Fu said, referencing the lawsuits reported in the infographic.
“This was during the time that Sharon claims that ‘everyone knew’ that Eileen was under a cloud of suspicion,” Fu said. “Sharon is fond of her self-proclaimed status as ‘the whistleblower’ in the Eileen Wang fiasco — which was of course nonsense; she was promoting Eileen to be on the Olympic Committee in 2025, based on her bilingual status and ‘the international’ thing.
“Sharon is equally fond of screaming ‘transparency’ from the rooftops,” Fu continued. “I would think that the people of Arcadia would have wanted to know that despite Sharon’s work for a state-owned company under the control of the Chinese government and Communist Party, she was not somehow compromised, and that Sharon would share that view.”
Kwan pointed to recent FBI raids involving a campaign donor and producer of campaign materials for Arcadia Mayor Paul Cheng and Councilman Michael Cao, respectively. James Su, CEO of EDI Media whose home and office were raided in late July, also donated $500 to Wang’s 2022 campaign.
“A search warrant is not proof of wrongdoing, but … those relationships deserve examination,” Kwan countered. “That is why I have now asked twice from the Council dais for a future agenda discussion concerning foreign influence, campaign contributions and these relationships. I included myself.
“Twice I asked. Twice I received no supporting vote. … I am not accusing Fu, Cheng, Cao or James Su of committing a crime. I am asking for an independent examination of the facts,” Kwan said. “Investigate me first. I volunteer to go first.
“Review my directorship, my Form 700 and whether I ever used my council position to benefit these companies. Investigate whether I have any connection to the (Chinese Communist Party). Then apply exactly the same standard to every councilmember.”
Council members and City Attorney Michael Maurer have said the local government does not have the power to investigate campaign finance and deferred to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission as the appropriate agency for such an audit.
On the online “unsigned poster” Fu referenced, Kwan said it is “built around insinuations (and) is not evidence.”
Fu said he questions if Kwan’s “duties or performance (are) influenced by outside forces? If (Wang) was subject to heightened scrutiny because she was apparently coordinating publicity and propaganda with the Chinese government, then by operating a Chinese government-owned subsidiary engaged in energy production and exploration, is Sharon also subject to some kind of influence by her superiors in Beijing?”
Council meetings are available live and archived on the city’s website.