California woman charged with spying on Taiwan president's son for China
Wanying Zhang, 34, of Irvine was arrested at LAX before flying to China, accused of surveilling President Lai Ching-te's son on behalf of Chinese officials.
FBI arrests Irvine woman over alleged surveillance of Taiwanese president's son
US authorities arrested a California woman on Sunday, charging her with acting as an unregistered foreign agent on behalf of Chinese officials, the FBI confirmed. Wanying Zhang, 34, of Irvine — also known as Heather — was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport moments before her scheduled departure to China.
According to theguardian.com, Zhang is alleged to have surveilled a son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. The FBI did not name the target directly in its statement, but subsequently shared a New York Post report identifying him as Lai Ting-yu, a US resident.
The Justice Department alleged Zhang travelled to Seattle in 2025 at the direction of Chinese officials, sending them photographs, video footage and licence plate information relating to the president's son and his family. She used tradecraft to avoid detection and never notified Washington that she was acting on behalf of a foreign government, Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement.
Taiwan's presidential office condemned the alleged conduct in strong terms, describing it as a "typical case of transnational repression" and thanking the US government for its intervention. Spokesperson Karen Kuo said: "Our country expresses the strongest condemnation of such barbaric conduct that disregards human rights and the sovereignty of nations."
China's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
It was not immediately clear whether Zhang had secured legal representation. She was scheduled to appear before a Los Angeles federal court on Monday, Essayli said.
Lai Ching-te and his Democratic Progressive Party advocate for Taiwan's separate identity from China, a position Beijing consistently rejects. China regards Taiwan as Chinese territory, while Lai has maintained that only Taiwan's people can determine the island's future. Washington does not hold formal diplomatic relations with Taipei but remains the island's principal international backer and primary arms supplier.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)