FBI arrests California woman accused of surveilling Taiwanese president’s son

Federal agents arrested a California real estate agent at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, accusing her of surveilling the Taiwanese president’s son and sending information about his family to Chinese officials.

Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, of Irvine, was arrested before a planned flight to Shanghai and charged with acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said she was expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday.

A criminal complaint says Zhang and an accomplice traveled to the Seattle area in September 2025 and photographed the home of a senior Taiwanese official’s family. Law enforcement sources identified the alleged target to CBS News as Lai Ting-yu, the son of Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te. The FBI did not name him directly, Al Jazeera reported, but later shared a news article identifying him.

According to the complaint, Zhang and a man identified only as “Individual 1” flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on Sept. 1, rented a black Nissan Rogue and drove to the family’s home. Images from a neighbor’s security camera allegedly show them appearing to film Lai Ting-yu, his wife and their child as the family arrived that evening.

Zhang then allegedly messaged a Chinese government contact: “Saw him. Young male. It’s that young one,” followed by “I am videorecording” and two license plate numbers. An FBI agent said investigators obtained the WeChat messages through a search warrant for Zhang’s iCloud account. The Justice Department said she sent photos, video and license plate information to China, according to Al Jazeera.

“If the PRC [People’s Republic of China] wish to obtain leverage over the President of Taiwan during any potential conflict, the location and pictures of the close relatives of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official, including pictures of their homes and cars, could be useful to the PRC,” FBI Special Agent Kevin Holt wrote in the complaint, dated Oct. 3, 2026.

The complaint says a former classmate at Beijing’s University of International Relations introduced Zhang to a Chinese government official in June 2025. Zhang allegedly met the official during a trip to China and later texted, “I can take care of this thing.” In an August exchange, she said she would probably go to Seattle the following week; the official replied, “Ok. Thank you for your hard work.”

Essayli called Zhang a “Chinese foreign agent” who “used tradecraft to avoid detection.” He said she had not notified the U.S. attorney general that she was acting for a foreign government. CBS News reported that it was not immediately clear whether Zhang had an attorney. Her husband, Edric Ding, told the outlet, “I don’t know anything yet,” and declined further comment.

Taiwan’s president and his Democratic Progressive Party say the island is already independent of China. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory. CBS News reported that Lai Ting-yu, an engineer in his 30s, lives in the United States with his wife and their U.S.-born son.