LOS ANGELES — The FBI arrested a California woman at Los Angeles International Airport and charged her with acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government, alleging she traveled to Seattle to surveil the son of Taiwan’s president and sent photographs, video and license-plate information to Chinese officials, NPR, NBC News and CBS News reported.
Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, of Irvine, was taken into custody on Oct. 4 as she prepared to board a flight to Shanghai, according to a federal complaint summarized by U.S. news organizations. Prosecutors said that in September 2025 she went to the Seattle area to watch Lai Ting-yu, the son of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, documenting his movements and transmitting the material to handlers linked to the People’s Republic of China.
The Justice Department accused Zhang of operating at the direction of Chinese government officials and of failing to register under U.S. laws that require people acting for foreign governments to notify the attorney general. She faces a charge of acting as an agent of a foreign government without proper notification. An initial court appearance in the Central District of California was expected after her arrest.
U.S. counterintelligence officials have for years warned that Beijing seeks information on Taiwan’s political leadership, military planning and overseas diaspora networks. Washington and Taipei maintain unofficial but extensive security and economic ties; confirmed targeting of a Taiwanese presidential family member on American soil sharpens an already fraught relationship with China. Beijing routinely rejects accusations of overseas repression and has previously denied directing such operations against Taiwanese figures abroad.
Neither defense counsel for Zhang nor China’s embassy in Washington immediately issued detailed public rebuttals in the first wave of reporting. The FBI cast the case as part of a wider effort to disrupt undeclared foreign influence and intelligence collection inside the United States. Taiwan’s presidential office had not offered an on-the-record comment in early Western coverage, while analysts noted the arrest would fuel congressional scrutiny of Chinese intelligence activity on U.S. campuses and in immigrant communities.
Sources: NPR, NBC News, CBS News
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