FBI arrests California realtor accused of spying on Taiwanese president's son for China

The FBI arrested Wanying "Heather" Zhang, an Irvine, California, realtor, at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday on charges of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, allegedly for surveilling the Taiwanese president's U.S.-based son. Zhang, 34, was detained before boarding a flight to Shanghai, according to a criminal complaint filed by FBI Special Agent Kevin Holt. She allegedly traveled to Seattle in September 2025 with an accomplice, photographed the home of Ting-Yu Lai, son of Taiwanese President Ching-Te Lai, and sent images and license plate numbers to a Chinese government handler via WeChat. The complaint states Zhang was recruited by a classmate from Beijing's University of International Relations and met a Chinese official in Changsha in June 2025 to receive her mission. Her husband declined to comment, and it was unclear if she had an attorney. The case follows other U.S. prosecutions of alleged Chinese agents, including a 2024 conviction and a March 2025 sentencing related to Operation Fox Hunt.