Chinese agent suspect in court over Taiwan president's son surveillance

A suspected Chinese agent, Wanying "Heather" Zhang, appeared in a Los Angeles federal court Monday after being arrested at LAX on charges of surveilling Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's son near Seattle last year. She faces charges of working as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government. The FBI arrested Zhang on Sunday before she boarded a flight to Shanghai. A criminal complaint accuses her and an accomplice of photographing the suburban home of Ting-Yu Lai in September 2025, with text messages allegedly showing coordination with Chinese officials. Her detention hearing was rescheduled to Wednesday. Zhang, an Orange County realtor, was remanded to U.S. Marshals custody. The Justice Department claims she acted as an unregistered agent from June to September 2025, plotting the mission during a China trip. FBI officials condemned the alleged plot as transnational repression.