The FBI has arrested a 34 year old California woman accused of spying for China and surveilling the family of Taiwan’s president.
The woman was identified as Wanying “Heather” Zhang, of Irvine. She was arrested on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport while trying to board a flight to China.
Authorities said she has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China. She is expected to appear Monday in federal court in Los Angeles.
According to a federal complaint, Zhang traveled to Seattle in September 2025 at the direction of Chinese officials. She allegedly surveilled the son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, taking photos, videos, and license plate information of his family and sending them to Beijing.
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said she used tradecraft to avoid detection and failed to notify the US government that she was acting for a foreign power.
FBI Director Kash Patel said, “America is no longer a safe place to run your espionage operations.”
Taiwan’s Presidential Office confirmed the target was President Lai’s relatives and condemned the act. Spokesperson Karen Kuo said it was “a classic case of transnational repression” that “should not be tolerated in the civilized world.”
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