The FBI has arrested a “Chinese foreign agent” at Los Angeles International Airport accused of spying on the Taiwanese president’s son. Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather, was arrested on Sunday before her planned departure to China, the first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, said in a post on X. Authorities charged Zhang, 34, of Irvine, California, with acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Zhang surveilled Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te’s son, the FBI said.
The agency did not directly name Zhang’s alleged target, but later shared a news article identifying him as Lai Ting-yu. The US Justice Department said Zhang travelled to Seattle in 2025 at the behest of Chinese officials. She sent photos, video and license plate information of the Taiwanese leader’s son and his family to China. Essayli called Zhang a “Chinese foreign agent” and said she “used tradecraft to avoid detection”. “She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense,” he added.
Essayli said Zhang will appear in a Los Angeles federal court on Monday. William Lai Ching-te and his Democratic Progressive Party say that Taiwan is already an independent country separate from China. Beijing views the island as Chinese territory. Washington does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but the US is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
Earlier this week, the US delivered two F-16V Block 70 fighter jets to Taiwan as the island seeks to build its defence capabilities to deter a feared attack by China. In January, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to achieve the “reunification” of China and Taiwan, calling Beijing’s long-held goal “unstoppable”.
