作者：Reng Feng（冯仍）

编辑：钟然 校对：毛一炜 翻译：周敏

2026年5月11日，美国司法部发布公告，加州阿卡迪亚市市长王爱琳被联邦起诉，罪名是在美国境内非法充当中华人民共和国政府代理人。更让我震惊的是，公告显示她已经同意认罪。司法部说，王爱琳与孙耀宁共同经营一个名为 “美国新闻中心”网站，表面上是服务本地华人社区的新闻平台，实际上却按中共官员的指令发布亲北京宣传内容，而且她并未依法向美国司法部长申报自己与外国政府之间的关系。

我看到这条消息时，心里久久不能平静。

王爱琳不是一个刚刚来到美国、还没有站稳脚跟的新移民。公开资料显示，她1995年从四川成都移民美国，到今天已经三十多年。她在美国买房、生活、经营人脉、参与社区事务，最终当选阿卡迪亚市议员，并成为这座城市的市长。她看起来几乎就是华人移民在美国成功的一个样本——从移民到融入，从社区活动到公职身份，从普通人走到市政舞台。

按理说，一个人在美国生活三十多年，享受了美国的自由制度、法治保障、社区信任和政治机会，更应该明白这一切来之不易。她能当上市议员、市长，不是因为哪个党组织安排她，不是因为上级领导提拔她，而是因为美国地方民主制度给了一个移民参与公共事务的机会。可是司法部公告披露的内容，却让人看到另一幅令人寒心的图景：她曾经接受并执行中共官员的指令，在美国传播中共宣传内容。

这让我感慨万千。

一个人离开了中国，来到美国，在这里获得成功，为什么最后还要为那个她已经离开的政党工作？为什么一个人已经进入自由社会，还要把专制政权的影响力带进这里？为什么一个人已经拥有了美国制度赋予的政治机会，却还要暗中服务一个压制言论、控制媒体、打压信仰、迫害异议人士的政权？

我想到自己，也想到许多像我一样来到美国的中国人。

我们很多人离开中国，不是为了发财，也不是为了换一个居住地点而已。 我们是因为看见了谎言、压迫、不公和恐惧，才知道自由的价值。我们离开的时候，心里有伤，也有盼望。我们希望孩子能在一个不必说假话、不必害怕政治、不必从小被洗脑的环境中长大。我们希望他们将来不再像我们这一代人一样，长期活在恐惧和沉默里。

可是王爱琳案让我不得不问一个更深的问题：如果我们的下一代在美国长大，他们会不会真正明白自由的代价？他们会不会知道，中国人为什么要逃离专制？他们会不会有一天只看到美国给他们的机会，却忘记了专制政权曾经怎样伤害中国人？

更可怕的是，如果我们这一代人不把真实的历史讲给孩子听，不把中共的本质讲清楚，不把自由社会与专制社会的区别讲明白，那么我们的后代也可能在舒适的生活中失去警醒。他们可能会以为中共只是一个“普通政府”，以为为它站台只是“文化交流”，以为替它宣传只是“爱国”，甚至以为反对中共就是“反华”。

这正是中共最擅长混淆的地方。

中共总是把“党”和“中国”捆绑在一起，把“反共”污蔑成“反华”，把批评政权说成是伤害民族感情。可是我们这些从中国走出来的人最清楚：真正伤害中国人的，不是揭露中共罪恶的人，而是这个长期压迫中国人的政权本身。真正羞辱华人的，不是美国司法部起诉一个非法外国代理人，而是一个华人公职人员在美国民主制度中获得信任后，却暗中接受外国专制政权的指令。

司法部国家安全助理部长约翰·艾森伯格说，在美国当选公职的人，应当只为他们所代表的美国人民服务；一个曾经接受并执行中共政府官员指令的人，竟处在公共信任位置上，尤其令人担忧。这个说法很重，但也很准确。

我认为，这件事绝不能被理解成针对华人。恰恰相反，最需要警醒的正是华人社区。绝大多数华人来到美国，是为了安居、自由、孩子的未来，是为了逃离专制和恐惧。真正威胁华人社区安全与名誉的，不是美国的调查，而是中共长期把海外华人社区当作统战对象、宣传通道和政治工具。

阿卡迪亚、圣盖博谷、洛杉矶东区，这些地方有大量华人居住。这里本该成为华人参与美国民主、建设社区、保护家庭的地方，而不应该成为中共渗透美国基层政治的试验田。美国地方政府看似离国际政治很远，但市议员、市长、学区委员、社区组织，恰恰是民主制度最基础的部分。如果这些地方被外国威权政权利用、渗透和操控，受伤的不只是美国制度，也包括生活在这里的华人家庭。

王爱琳案给我最大的提醒是：移民美国，不等于自动获得自由的灵魂；离开中国，不等于真正脱离中共的思想控制；在美国成功，不等于一定懂得感恩这个制度。

一个人可以住在美国的房子里，开美国的车，拿美国的身份，参加美国的选举，甚至当上美国的市长，但他的心如果仍然跪在中共权力面前，那么他只是身体到了自由世界，灵魂仍然被专制捆绑。

我也因此提醒自己：作为父亲，我不能只关心孩子的成绩、英语、学校和未来职业。我更要关心他们是否明白自由、诚实、公义和信仰的价值。我们不能让孩子只知道美国生活好，却不知道为什么这里好；不能让他们只享受自由，却不知道自由需要守护；不能让他们长大后对中共的谎言失去辨别力。

我们这一代从中国出来的人，有责任把真实告诉后代：告诉他们文革、六四、宗教迫害、维权律师、铁链女、言论审查、监控社会，也告诉他们为什么美国的宪法、法治、新闻自由和地方民主如此宝贵。我们不能把这些历史埋在沉默里，因为沉默会让下一代失去判断力。

王爱琳案不是一个人的丑闻，也不是一个城市的新闻。它是一面镜子，照出了中共对海外华人社区的长期渗透，也照出了我们这一代移民必须面对的责任。

我们来到美国，不只是为了活得安全一点、舒服一点。我们更应该学会做一个真正自由的人，也帮助我们的孩子成为懂得真相、珍惜自由、拒绝谎言的人。

否则，有一天我们也会痛心地发现：我们的后代虽然生长在自由土地上，却仍然被专制的阴影牵引。

这才是最值得我们警醒的地方。

Body in Freedom, Soul in Prison: The “Soul Searching” of the Eileen Wang Case for Chinese Immigrants

Author: Reng Feng

Editor: Zhong Ran Proofreader: Mao Yiwei Translator: Zhou Min

Abstract: Eileen Wang was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice and pleaded guilty to charges of acting as an agent of the Chinese government in the United States. She allegedly published pro-Beijing propaganda through a website without legally declaring her relationship. The incident has sparked discussions and vigilance regarding the CCP’s overseas infiltration and its political influence on the Chinese community.

On May 11, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice issued an announcement stating that Eileen Wang, the Mayor of Arcadia, California, had been federally indicted on charges of illegally acting as an agent of the government of the People’s Republic of China within the United States. What shocked me even more was that the announcement indicated she had already agreed to plead guilty. The Department of Justice stated that Eileen Wang, together with Sun Yaoning, operated a website called “U.S. News Center.” On the surface, it was a news platform serving the local Chinese community, but in reality, it published pro-Beijing propaganda content according to the instructions of CCP officials, and she did not legally declare her relationship with a foreign government to the U.S. Attorney General.

When I saw this news, my heart could not be calm for a long time.

Eileen Wang is not a new immigrant who just arrived in the United States and has not yet established a foothold. Public records show that she immigrated to the U.S. from Chengdu, Sichuan, in 1995—it has been over thirty years to this day. She bought a house, lived, managed social networks, and participated in community affairs in America, eventually being elected as an Arcadia City Council member and becoming the mayor of the city. She appeared to be almost a model of success for Chinese immigrants in America—from immigrating to integrating, from community activities to holding public office, from an ordinary person to the municipal stage.

Reasonably speaking, someone who has lived in the United States for over thirty years and enjoyed America’s free system, rule of law protection, community trust, and political opportunities should understand all the more that none of this came easily. Her ability to become a city council member and mayor was not because some party organization arranged it for her, nor because a superior leader promoted her, but because the American local democratic system gave an immigrant the opportunity to participate in public affairs. However, the content disclosed by the Department of Justice announcement reveals another chilling picture: she once accepted and executed instructions from CCP officials to spread CCP propaganda content in the United States.

This fills me with myriad emotions.

A person leaves China, comes to the United States, and achieves success here—why, in the end, do they still work for the political party they have already left? Why, when a person has already entered a free society, do they still bring the influence of an autocratic regime into this place? Why, when a person already possesses the political opportunities bestowed by the American system, do they still secretly serve a regime that suppresses speech, controls the media, cracks down on faith, and persecutes dissidents?

I think of myself, and I also think of many Chinese people who, like me, came to the United States.

Many of us leave China not for the sake of getting rich, nor merely to change a place of residence. We know the value of freedom because we have seen lies, oppression, injustice, and fear. When we left, there were wounds in our hearts, but also hope. We hope our children can grow up in an environment where they do not have to tell lies, do not have to fear politics, and do not have to be brainwashed from a young age. We hope that in the future, they will no longer be like our generation, living in fear and silence for a long time.

But the Eileen Wang case forces me to ask a deeper question: If our next generation grows up in the United States, will they truly understand the price of freedom? Will they know why Chinese people flee autocracy? Will there be a day when they only see the opportunities America gives them, but forget how the autocratic regime once harmed the Chinese people?

Even more terrifying is that if our generation does not tell the true history to our children, does not clearly explain the essence of the CCP, and does not make plain the difference between a free society and an autocratic society, then our descendants may also lose their vigilance in a comfortable life. They might think the CCP is just an “ordinary government,” think that standing up for it is just “cultural exchange,” think that promoting it is just “patriotism,” or even think that opposing the CCP is being “anti-China.”

This is precisely where the CCP is best at creating confusion.

The CCP always bundles “the Party” and “China” together, slanders “anti-communism” as “anti-China,” and describes criticism of the regime as hurting national feelings. But those of us who have walked out of China know best: the ones truly harming the Chinese people are not those who expose the evils of the CCP, but the regime itself that has long oppressed the Chinese people. What truly humiliates Chinese people is not the U.S. Department of Justice indicting an illegal foreign agent, but a Chinese public official who, after gaining trust within the American democratic system, secretly accepts instructions from a foreign autocratic regime.

John Demers (Assistant Attorney General for National Security) said that those elected to public office in the United States should serve only the American people they represent; it is particularly concerning that someone who once accepted and executed instructions from CCP government officials should be in a position of public trust. This statement is heavy, but also very accurate.

I believe this matter must never be interpreted as targeting Chinese people. On the contrary, the ones who need to be most vigilant are precisely the Chinese community. The vast majority of Chinese people come to America for peace, freedom, the future of their children, and to escape autocracy and fear. What truly threatens the safety and reputation of the Chinese community is not American investigations, but the CCP’s long-term use of the overseas Chinese community as a United Front target, a propaganda channel, and a political tool.

Arcadia, San Gabriel Valley, East Los Angeles—these places have large Chinese populations. These places should have been where Chinese people participate in American democracy, build communities, and protect their families, rather than becoming a testing ground for the CCP to infiltrate American grassroots politics. Local governments in America seem far from international politics, but city council members, mayors, school board members, and community organizations are precisely the most foundational parts of the democratic system. If these places are utilized, infiltrated, and manipulated by a foreign authoritarian regime, the ones hurt are not only the American system but also the Chinese families living here.

The biggest reminder the Eileen Wang case gives me is: Immigrating to the United States does not equate to automatically obtaining a free soul; leaving China does not equate to truly escaping the CCP’s ideological control; succeeding in America does not equate to necessarily knowing how to be grateful for this system.

A person can live in an American house, drive an American car, hold an American identity, participate in American elections, and even become an American mayor—but if their heart still kneels before CCP power, then only their body has reached the free world, while their soul remains bound by autocracy.

Therefore, I also remind myself: As a father, I cannot only care about my children’s grades, English, schools, and future careers. I must care even more about whether they understand the values of freedom, honesty, justice, and faith. We cannot let our children only know that life in America is good without knowing why it is good here; we cannot let them only enjoy freedom without knowing that freedom needs to be guarded; we cannot let them grow up and lose the ability to discern the CCP’s lies.

We of the generation that came out of China have a responsibility to tell the truth to the next generation: tell them about the Cultural Revolution, June Fourth, religious persecution, human rights lawyers, the “Chained Woman,” speech censorship, and the surveillance society. Also tell them why the American Constitution, the rule of law, freedom of the press, and local democracy are so precious. We cannot bury this history in silence, because silence will cause the next generation to lose their judgment.

The Eileen Wang case is not a scandal of one person, nor is it just news of one city. It is a mirror that reflects the CCP’s long-term infiltration of overseas Chinese communities and the responsibilities our generation of immigrants must face.

We came to America not just to live a bit more safely or comfortably. We should also learn to be truly free people and help our children become people who know the truth, cherish freedom, and reject lies.

Otherwise, one day we will also painfully discover: although our descendants grow up on free soil, they are still being pulled by the shadows of autocracy.

This is the place that most deserves our vigilance.