FBI arrests woman accused of spying on Taiwanese president’s son

THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a California woman for operating as an unregistered agent of a foreign state. The woman is accused of covertly surveilling the son of Taiwan’s president on behalf of Chinese government.

Wanying “Heather” Zhang, a 34-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, was apprehended by FBI officers at Los Angeles International Airport on 4 October, shortly prior to boarding a flight to Shanghai. According to First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli, Zhang, a real estate agent, “used tradecraft to avoid detection” prior to her apprehension by federal agents.

Although the federal criminal complaint does not mention the alleged target’s name, the FBI’s rapid response account on the social platform X stated Zhang surveilled the residences of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s son. Zhang allegedly travelled to Seattle in September 2025, filmed the home and vehicles of Lai’s son and family, and forwarded recorded footage and license-plate details to Chinese officials.

According to the FBI affidavit, Zhang attended the University of International Relations in Beijing, which is said to have a close affiliation to China’s Ministry of State Security—China’s primary intelligence organization. In January 2025, Zhang allegedly travelled to China to meet with an official, who is a graduate of the same university. According to records obtained by a search warrant pertaining to Zhang’s iCloud account, two months after the meeting, the pair exchanged WeChat messages containing the address of a Taiwanese official who had criticized Beijing. It is understood that Zhang visited China again in June 2025 and met with another Chinese official, who allegedly instructed her to surveil the Taiwanese president’s son. Read more of this post