Amid the Arcadia City Council’s efforts to reorganize following the resignation of Mayor Eileen Wang, an admitted intelligence operative for China, the majority of members denied colleagues’ recent requests for public hearings about foreign-government influence in local politics and a defeated lawsuit over the censure last year of Councilwoman Sharon Kwan.
At the last council meeting Aug. 18, Kwan asked for a future meeting agenda item to discuss questions about recently disclosed connections between Arcadia council members and a media company with ties to the People’s Republic of China that was raided by the FBI in late July.
“For years, I have warned that foreign influence in local politics is real and should be taken seriously,” Kwan said in an email to HeySoCal.com. “When I spoke about (Chinese Communist Party) influence during my swearing-in, some people dismissed my concerns. Now I believe it is time to ask the questions I have been asking for years. …
“My concern is simple: Who is influencing our elected officials? Where is the money coming from? And what does the public not know?
Campaign records show financial connections between Arcadia council members and EDI Media, a West Covina company that owns Chinese-language radio and television stations, print publications, websites and an advertising agency, according to EDI’s website.
Mayor Paul Cheng received $2,500 from EDI owner James Su during Cheng’s 2024 campaign for the District 4 council seat.
Councilman Michael Cao paid EDI $17,468 in 2024 for “broadcast air time and production costs,” financial disclosure documents show.
Wang received $500 from Su during her 2022 campaign and paid EDI $1,288 for air time and production, records show.
Candidate Jason J. Lee also paid $1,288 to EDI for “campaign ads,” according to his disclosure documents.
“Cheng has also spent campaign money advertising through Chinese-language media and has appeared frequently on these platforms,” Kwan observed, adding that “none of this alone proves wrongdoing. But now that James Su and EDI Media are involved in a federal investigation, the public deserves to know the full extent of these relationships.”
Cheng said Kwan’s request last week was “duplicative” of action the council took July 21.
“At our previous study session, I introduced a motion directing city staff to review Arcadia’s existing policies concerning foreign-government influence and evaluate whether any additional safeguards would strengthen the integrity of our city government,” Cheng said via email. “The motion received support from every council member except council member Kwan. Her duplicative request does nothing new.”
Cheng said when his campaign accepted Su’s contribution, he “was unaware of EDI Media’s registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act” and that the donation “was lawfully accepted and fully disclosed in my campaign’s public filings.”
The mayor noted that the Downtown Arcadia Improvement Association also “was unaware of that registration when it previously partnered with EDI Media for a community event.”
Cheng added that California law prohibits elected officials from voting on any project involving donors who contributed more than $500.
“At no time while I have been on council did EDI or James Su come to me with any requests that would impact the City of Arcadia,” Cheng said.
Mayor Pro Tem David Fu did not support Kwan’s request for the future hearing, nor did council members Michael Cao and John Han. The council appointed Han to Wang’s vacant seat on June 16, and he is seeking election in November.
The three did not respond to requests for comment.
Also at last week’s council meeting, Fu requested a future agenda item for a public hearing in which Kwan would respond to questions of her level of involvement in a lawsuit challenging her censure.
Cao offered a second to the request, but Han and Cheng declined to offer the necessary third for majority support.
“Council Member Kwan’s interest in a lawsuit filed against the city is relevant,” Cheng told HeySoCal.com. “However, I felt that I needed to first speak with the city attorney to look at the request to ensure this is not a closed-session issue.”
City Attorney Michael Maurer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kwan defended her call for a hearing to demonstrate public transparency.
“This is especially important because Paul Cheng is now the mayor of Arcadia,” she said. “The mayor holds one of the city’s highest positions of public trust. That should mean more transparency, not less.
“We should remember what happened with former Mayor Eileen Wang. When serious questions arose about Wang, I asked the City Council to discuss whether she should step down,” Kwan recalled. “Paul Cheng, Michael Cao and David Fu would not support even putting that discussion on the agenda. Their votes do not prove wrongdoing. But I believed then, and I still believe today, that refusing to have that public discussion was a mistake.”
Kwan said the city “should not make that mistake again,” but emphasized that “this is not about Chinese Americans or Chinese culture. I am Chinese American and proud of my heritage. Chinese culture is not the Chinese Communist Party.”
The District 2 councilwoman — who after becoming the city’s first female Asian American mayor was the subject of a censure action in September 2025 — also noted what she said was bias against her in the Chinese-language press.
“I have also personally experienced how powerful local political and media groups can be,” Kwan said. “When I criticized Cheng, Cao, Wang or Fu, I often felt that my side of the story was missing from certain Chinese-language media coverage. That is a serious concern.”
Chinese-language social media, community organizations and cultural events as “powerful political tools” was another element of the local political landscape that drew Kwan’s attention.
“Events like Lunar New Year and the Moon Festival should celebrate our culture and bring people togethe,” she said. “They should not be used by anyone to promote favored politicians or attack people who disagree with them. … In my experience, certain candidates receive tremendous promotion through these networks, while people who challenge the established group can become targets.
“I know because it happened to me,” Kwan related. “Recently, an old photograph from 2017 was circulated to attack my credibility. The photograph includes a woman I later learned was associated with the Chinese consulate.”
According to Kwan, what actually happened was “a woman who led an established international women’s organization told me she was getting older and wanted to retire. She asked me to take over as president.”
Kwan said the woman arranged for Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, to present Kwan with a certificate during an event at Kwan’s home.
“Other people attended, including a woman I was told was being recognized because she was retiring,” Kwan said. “At the time, I did not know that woman was associated with the Chinese consulate. I had no political relationship with her.
“Years later, after I began speaking publicly about foreign influence, that photograph was brought back and used against me.”
A lesson Kwan learned from that experience was “influence is not always easy to see,” she said. “It can begin with an introduction, an invitation, an award, a photograph or a cultural event. That does not mean those things are wrong. Most are completely innocent. But people in public office must understand who they are dealing with, remain independent and be transparent about important relationships. That is exactly what I am asking for now.”
Wang pleaded guilty May 29 in Los Angeles federal court to secretly acting as an agent of a foreign government. She is awaiting a prison sentence that could be as much as 10 years.
Her ex-fiance and campaign adviser Yaoning “Mike” Sun is serving a four-year sentence in Los Angeles for the same charge.
On July 28, the FBI served search warrants at the home and office of EDI Media CEO James Su, Ontario City Councilman Alan Wapner and Curt Hagman, a member of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.
The council voted 4-1 in September 2025 to censure Kwan for alleged offenses that included violating rules of decorum during meetings and “engaging in un-collegial behavior, unprofessional temperament, and unfounded accusations against Councilmembers simply because other Councilmembers expressed a differing viewpoint,” according to the censure resolution.
Kwan has said the censure was an attempt by the council majority to quell her opposition to large pay increases for city employees and discredit her allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination against Fu.
On July 23, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas D. Long granted the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by District 2 residents Stephanie Aiken and Laurie Thompson. The judge found that the censure was a constitutionally protected exercise of free speech and did not violate the Ralph M. Brown Act, which governs how local governments in California operate.