US authorities have arrested a California woman accused of spying for Chinese officials and surveilling the son of Taiwan’s president, the FBI said.
Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather, was arrested on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport before she was due to travel to China, according to the FBI. The 34-year-old Irvine resident was charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
The FBI said Zhang surveilled a son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. Although the agency did not initially identify the alleged target, it later shared a report identifying him as Lai Ting-yu, a US resident.
Taiwan’s presidential office described the alleged surveillance as a “typical case of transnational repression” and thanked the US government for protecting Taiwanese citizens.
“Our country expresses the strongest condemnation of such barbaric conduct that disregards human rights and the sovereignty of nations,” spokesperson Karen Kuo said.
China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The US Justice Department said Zhang travelled to Seattle in 2025 at the direction of Chinese officials and provided them with photographs, videos and licence-plate information involving Lai Ting-yu and his family.
According to Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, Zhang used methods intended to avoid detection and did not notify US authorities that she was acting on behalf of a foreign government.
It was not immediately clear whether Zhang had a defence attorney. Essayli said she was expected to appear in a Los Angeles federal court on Monday.
Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party support Taiwan’s separate identity from China, a position that Beijing frequently opposes. China regards Taiwan as part of its territory, while Lai maintains that only the people of Taiwan can decide the island’s future.
The United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but remains its most important international backer and weapons supplier.
Ojo Triumph
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