A 34 year old real estate agent from Southern California has been charged with secretly working for the Chinese government after allegedly tracking and filming the eldest son of Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and his family outside their home near Seattle. The FBI arrested her at Los Angeles International Airport on October 4 as she was about to board a flight to China.
Arrested At LAX Before A Flight To Shanghai
The woman, Wanying "Heather" Zhang (張婉瑩), is a real estate agent based in Irvine, California. Federal agents detained her at the airport before she could board a flight to Shanghai, and she has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of the People's Republic of China, according to Fox News reporting and CNN. "She was conducting surveillance on behalf of the Chinese government," said Bill Essayli, the First Assistant US Attorney in Los Angeles. FBI Director Kash Patel said, "Foreign adversaries take note: America is no longer a safe place" for such operations. Zhang was scheduled to make her first appearance in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday. Her husband, also a real estate agent, told reporters by phone that he knew nothing about the case and declined to comment further.
We just arrested a Chinese foreign agent at LAX attempting to depart for China.Wanying Zhang, aka “Heather,” 34, of Irvine, was arrested today by @FBILosAngeles on a federal complaint charging her with acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China.According to the affidavit, Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 and, at the direction of PRC officials, surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official, sending photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials.She coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection. She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense.She will appear in federal court in Los Angeles tomorrow for her initial appearance. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Surveillance Outside A Seattle Area Home
According to the criminal complaint filed by FBI agents, Zhang and an unnamed associate flew from Las Vegas to Seattle in September 2025, rented a black Nissan Rogue, and drove to the suburban home of Lai Ting-yu (賴廷與), the president's eldest son. Lai, an engineer in his 30s who studied in the United States, works for the Dutch electronics company Philips and has a young son with his wife. Footage from a neighbor's security camera included in the complaint shows Zhang's group recording Lai, his wife and their child as they returned home. The pair also photographed the family's house and vehicles.
WeChat Reports To A Chinese Handler
After searching Zhang's iCloud account, agents say they found WeChat messages she sent to a Chinese government contact during the surveillance. "Saw him. Young male. It's that young one," she wrote, followed by "I am videorecording," before sending two license plate numbers. The contact replied with thanks for her efforts. In a separate audio message, Zhang was told not to send the Seattle pictures over WeChat or text. The FBI says she was in contact with at least two people working for the Chinese government.
A Mission Accepted In Changsha
The complaint says Zhang graduated from the University of International Relations in Beijing, a school closely tied to China's Ministry of State Security, the country's main civilian intelligence agency. In June 2025, she booked a private room in Changsha, the capital of China's Hunan Province, where she met a Chinese official and agreed to take on the surveillance assignment, telling the contact, "I can take care of this thing."
Why Beijing Would Want Leverage Over Taiwan's President
In the complaint, FBI counterintelligence agent Kevin Holt wrote that if China wanted leverage over Taiwan's president during a potential conflict, knowing where his close relatives live, along with photos of their homes and cars, would be highly valuable to Beijing. The US Justice Department and the FBI say their investigation is continuing.