New Delhi: A California woman was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport just before she was due to fly to Shanghai, after the United States authorities accused her of carrying out a surveillance operation against the family of Taiwan president, Lai Ching-te. Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, was arrested on Sunday and charged with acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
The alleged operation began in China in June 2025, when Zhang was introduced to a Chinese government official through a former classmate from Beijing’s University of International Relations. According to CBS News, investigators believe she travelled to Changsha, met the official and agreed to carry out a surveillance assignment after being approached through the contact.
Months later, the assignment allegedly shifted to the US. On September 1, 2025, Zhang and another person travelled from Las Vegas to Seattle, rented a black Nissan Rogue and went to a residential area where investigators say the Taiwanese president’s son was living.
The visit was captured by a nearby security camera as Taiwan president’s son, Lai Ting-yu, and his family returned home. Investigators allege that Zhang recorded them and collected details of their vehicles, including licence plate numbers.
According to reports, Lai Ting-yu is an engineer in his 30s who studied in the US and works for Dutch electronics company Philips. He lives in the US with his wife Hsiao Chen and their young child.
Investigators say Zhang communicated with Chinese contacts after the Seattle visit and sent them information gathered during the alleged surveillance. Messages obtained from her iCloud account allegedly showed her discussing the target, recording activity and vehicle details.
The investigation also alleges that Zhang remained in contact with at least two people she understood to be working for the Chinese government. FBI investigators said information about a person’s home, movements and vehicles could potentially be useful for exerting pressure or gaining leverage during a future conflict.
By late August 2025, Zhang was allegedly discussing another trip to Seattle with one of her contacts. Prosecutors also allege that she used measures intended to avoid detection and did not tell US authorities that she was working on behalf of a foreign government.
Taiwan’s presidential office on Monday described the alleged activity as a case of transnational repression, while China’s foreign ministry had not yet responded to a request for comment.
The case comes amid tensions over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of China while Lai and his government maintain that the island’s future should be decided by its people. The US has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is its major international security partner and weapons supplier.
FBI Director Kash Patel reacts
The FBI director, Kash Patel, said in a post on X that foreign adversaries should not expect to conduct espionage operations on US soil and then leave the country. Referring to the alleged surveillance and Zhang’s planned flight to Shanghai, Patel said the FBI would continue pursuing threats to US national security and hold those responsible accountable.
The FA United States attorney, Bill Essayli, said Zhang coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection. He said she never notified the attorney general that she was acting for a foreign government, which is a federal offence.
Essayli said Zhang will appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday for her initial appearance. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Zhang is a licenced California real estate agent with JC Pacific Capital Inc. Her husband, Edric Ding, who works at the same firm, told CBS News that he was unaware of the allegations and declined to comment further.