FBI arrests Irvine woman at LAX in alleged surveillance of Taiwanese president’s family

Federal agents arrested an Irvine woman at Los Angeles International Airport over the weekend after accusing her of working as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government and helping surveil family members of a senior Taiwanese official in the United States. The case underscores the reach of foreign influence and counterintelligence concerns on American soil.

Wanying Zhang, 34, also known as Heather Zhang, was taken into custody on Sunday as she prepared to board a flight to Shanghai, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Prosecutors said she was expected to make her initial court appearance and be arraigned in downtown Los Angeles on Monday. The complaint alleges that Zhang and another person tracked relatives of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official near Seattle last September.

Taiwan’s relationship with China remains one of the most sensitive geopolitical flashpoints in Asia. U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that foreign governments may seek information that could be used to pressure political leaders, and the allegations in this case place that concern squarely inside the United States, where the surveillance allegedly occurred.

Travel to China, then surveillance in Washington state

According to the Justice Department, Zhang traveled from Southern California to China in June 2025, met with Chinese government officials and received instructions to conduct surveillance in the United States. Prosecutors said she later coordinated with another individual to travel from Las Vegas to Seattle on Sept. 1, 2025, where the two drove to the family’s residence and photographed the area.

The complaint alleges that Zhang messaged a PRC official from the scene, including saying she was recording video and sending a photo of a boarding pass. Investigators also say she forwarded license plate numbers for vehicles parked outside the home and wrote, “Saw him, young male, it’s the young one,” in reference to the target, identified by law enforcement sources as Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.

CBS News reported that images from a neighbor’s security camera appeared to show the pair filming Ting-Yu Lai, his wife and their child as they arrived home. The FBI affidavit cited in the case also says Zhang was in contact with at least two people she appeared to understand were working for the Chinese government, and that one of those contacts had ties to her alma mater, Beijing’s University of International Relations.

The Justice Department said the criminal complaint covers conduct from June through September 2025 and that Zhang acted without notifying the attorney general, as required under federal law. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. As with any criminal complaint, the allegations have not been proven in court, and Zhang is presumed innocent unless and until she is found guilty.

Zhang is a licensed California realtor, and CBS News reported that her husband, Edric Ding, also works as a realtor at the same firm. It was not immediately clear whether she had retained an attorney. Federal prosecutors said the FBI is investigating the case.