In Arcadia, a councilwoman pushes back as ‘foreign influence’ issue spills into election season
The resignation of former Mayor Eileen Wang has stirred distrust and tension in the city known as “the Chinese Beverly Hills.”
By Xiaoyu Wang ·
Since May, the resignation of former Mayor Eileen Wang after pleading guilty to acting as an agent for China has stirred distrust and tension in the city known as “the Chinese Beverly Hills.” Months later, the ripple effects of the Wang scandal have spilled into public view anew on the City Council dais, where issues over trust and the force of past political fractures have combined for a tense march into election season.
The most recent example was Tuesday, Oct. 20, when a tension-filled City Council meeting focused on whether Councilmember Sharon Kwan’s ties to Chinese Texas oil company Shandong Xinchao Energy Corp. violated foreign-interest laws.
Fellow council members grilled Kwan, the city’s first Asian American woman to become its mayor, on those ties in a hearing Kwan herself called for.
It was a clash among leaders that ended with no official action, but led to current tensions and hints of deep cracks in the city’s politics that predated Wang’s departure.
Kwan, who is running for reelection in District 2, said her membership on the company’s board was of no concern to people in Arcadia, arguing she receives no compensation, no ownership interest and that the company is partially owned by Americans.
Shandong Xinchao Energy Corp. Ltd. is a China-based company in the Permian Basin, a huge swath of petroleum-producing land in Texas. Working on exploration, development and sales of oil and natural gas, the company’s oil and gas assets are low-sulfur, light, crude oil and associated natural gas.
Kwan called Tuesday’s meeting last month after a flyer pointing out her ties to the energy company circulated on social media, triggering scrutiny among residents still grappling with Wang’s actions.
‘I proposed that we investigate and discuss all council members’ foreign ties,’ Kwan told her colleagues from the dais. ‘The public doesn’t trust us. They want answers. Even though you guys won’t provide answers, I have nothing to hide.’
She later told the Southern California News Group that she was nominated to the board by fellow members with whom she was real estate investment partners in Texas. Her responsibilities on the energy company, which is comprised of 300 American employees, focus on assuring that shareholders’ profits are healthy and offer business recommendations accordingly.
She said she ‘doesn’t take a dime.’
Source: Los Angeles Daily News
