Chinese Agent Arrested Over Alleged Spying on Taiwanese President’s Son

A woman suspected of working for China was arrested Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport after allegedly conducting surveillance on the son of Taiwan’s president and his family.

Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, a California real estate agent from Irvine, was detained by federal agents as she prepared to board a flight to Shanghai. Prosecutors charged her with acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.

Investigators allege that Zhang and an unnamed associate traveled to Seattle, Washington, in September 2025 and photographed the suburban residence of relatives of a senior Taiwanese official.

“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,” Special Agent Kevin Holt wrote in an October 3 criminal complaint.

Beijing has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, while Taiwan maintains that it is self-governing and independent.

People familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the alleged target was Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Ching-Te Lai.

Ting-Yu, an engineer in his 30s, studied at a U.S. college and lives with his wife, Hsiao Chen, and their American-born son. He is employed by Philips, the multinational electronics company.

The criminal complaint, obtained by CBS News, says Zhang and a man referred to in court documents as “Individual 1” flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on September 1, 2025. They allegedly rented a black Nissan Rogue and drove to Ting-Yu’s residence.

According to images from a neighbor’s security camera cited in the complaint, the pair appeared to record Ting-Yu, his wife and their child as they returned home that night.

Zhang allegedly reported the encounter to a Chinese government contact by text, writing: “Saw him. Young male. It’s the young one” and “I am video recording.” She also sent two license plate numbers.

The messages were recovered through a search warrant targeting Zhang’s iCloud account, the complaint states.

The filing further alleges that Zhang communicated with at least two individuals whom she appeared to recognize as employees or representatives of the PRC government.

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Holt said Zhang was introduced to one of the alleged officials in June 2025 by a former classmate from Beijing’s University of International Relations. The university, he noted, maintains close connections with China’s Ministry of State Security.

During a June 2025 trip to China, Zhang allegedly reserved a private room in Changsha, where she met the official and was given instructions for the surveillance operation.

She later allegedly messaged the official: “I can take care of this thing.”

Zhang is then said to have texted a Chinese government official again on August 25, 2025, writing: ‘I will be busy with work in LA this week. I will probably go to Seattle next week.’

The official then replied, ‘OK. Thank you for your hard work,’ according to the criminal complaint.

Bill Essayli, first US Attorney for the Central District of California, said she has since ‘used tradecraft’ to avoid detection from American authorities and never notified the Attorney General she was acting as an agent for a foreign government. 

Zhang is a licensed California real estate agent with JC Pacific Capital Inc.

Her Zillow profile shows she has 130 sales and listings around LA and neighboring counties. 

Zhang is now expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday for an initial appearance. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Taiwanese Consulate for comment. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.