The FBI on Sunday arrested a woman at Los Angeles International Airport who authorities say was acting as a Chinese foreign agent in the United States, surveilling the son of the Taiwanese president.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said that 34-year-old Wanying “Heather” Zhang was arrested on a federal complaint charging her with acting as an unregistered agent of China. “She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense,” Essayli said.
Zhang, acting at the direction of Chinese officials, traveled to Seattle in 2025, where she “surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official, sending photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials,” Essayli said. “She coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection.”
Law enforcement sources told CBS News that Zhang’s target was Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Ching-Te Lai, who works as an engineer in the Seattle area.
FBI Special Agent Kevin Holt wrote in the October 3, 2026, criminal complaint, “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.”
The complaint said that Zhang and a man identified only as “Individual 1” flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on September 1, 2025, where they rented a black Nissan Rogue and drove to their target’s home. A neighbor’s security camera was said to have shown the pair “appearing to film” Ting-Yu and his family as they arrived home that evening.
Zhang texted her Chinese handler, Saw him. Young male. It's that young one," and "I am videorecording," as well as two license plate numbers, authorities said.
The FBI agent wrote that “Zhang was in contact with at least two people whom she appeared to acknowledge worked for the PRC government.”
Zhang was allegedly introduced to one of the government officials in June of 2025 by a classmate from Beijing’s University of International Relations, her alma matter, which Holt said has close ties to the Ministry of State Security. Holt said that Zhang had beet the government official and received the surveillance mission during a June 2025 trip.
She wrote on August 26, 2025, “I will be busy with work in L.A. this week. I will probably go to Seattle next week.” The official replied, “Ok. Thank you for your hard work.” Zhang is a licensed realtor in the state of California with JC Pacific Capital Inc. Her profile on Zillow says that she has 130 sales and listings in the Los Angeles area.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said that 34-year-old Wanying “Heather” Zhang was arrested on a federal complaint charging her with acting as an unregistered agent of China. “She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense,” Essayli said.
Zhang, acting at the direction of Chinese officials, traveled to Seattle in 2025, where she “surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official, sending photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials,” Essayli said. “She coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection.”
Law enforcement sources told CBS News that Zhang’s target was Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Ching-Te Lai, who works as an engineer in the Seattle area.
FBI Special Agent Kevin Holt wrote in the October 3, 2026, criminal complaint, “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.”
The complaint said that Zhang and a man identified only as “Individual 1” flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on September 1, 2025, where they rented a black Nissan Rogue and drove to their target’s home. A neighbor’s security camera was said to have shown the pair “appearing to film” Ting-Yu and his family as they arrived home that evening.
Zhang texted her Chinese handler, Saw him. Young male. It's that young one," and "I am videorecording," as well as two license plate numbers, authorities said.
The FBI agent wrote that “Zhang was in contact with at least two people whom she appeared to acknowledge worked for the PRC government.”
Zhang was allegedly introduced to one of the government officials in June of 2025 by a classmate from Beijing’s University of International Relations, her alma matter, which Holt said has close ties to the Ministry of State Security. Holt said that Zhang had beet the government official and received the surveillance mission during a June 2025 trip.
She wrote on August 26, 2025, “I will be busy with work in L.A. this week. I will probably go to Seattle next week.” The official replied, “Ok. Thank you for your hard work.” Zhang is a licensed realtor in the state of California with JC Pacific Capital Inc. Her profile on Zillow says that she has 130 sales and listings in the Los Angeles area.
