A California real estate agent accused of carrying out surveillance on the son of Taiwan’s president has been arrested at Los Angeles International Airport, US authorities said.
Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, was detained by federal agents on Sunday before she could board a flight to Shanghai. She has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
Investigators allege Zhang travelled to Seattle in September 2025 with an unidentified accomplice and photographed the suburban home of Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Ching-Te Lai.
A criminal complaint alleges that images from a neighbour’s security camera showed the pair appearing to film Ting-Yu Lai, his wife and their child as they arrived home. The complaint said the information could potentially be used by the People’s Republic of China to exert leverage over the Taiwanese president during a conflict.
According to the allegations, Zhang and the man flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on September 1 last year, hired a black Nissan Rogue and drove to the family’s address.
Zhang allegedly later sent messages to a Chinese government handler saying: “Saw him. Young male. It’s the young one” and “I am video recording.” The messages were said to have been recovered from a search warrant executed on her iCloud account, along with two vehicle registration numbers.
Authorities allege that Zhang was in contact with at least two people she appeared to acknowledge worked for the Chinese government.
She was allegedly introduced to one of them in June 2025 by a former classmate from Beijing’s University of International Relations. A US investigator said the institution had close ties to China’s Ministry of State Security.
The complaint claims Zhang met the official in a private room in Changsha during a visit to China and was given the surveillance assignment. She allegedly later wrote to the official: “I can take care of this thing.”
In another exchange on August 25, Zhang allegedly said she would be working in Los Angeles before probably travelling to Seattle the following week. The official is said to have replied: “OK. Thank you for your hard work.”
Bill Essayli, the US Attorney for the Central District of California, said Zhang had used “tradecraft” to avoid detection and had not notified the Attorney General that she was acting on behalf of a foreign government.
Zhang is a licensed real estate agent with JC Pacific Capital Inc and is listed as having carried out 130 sales and listings across Los Angeles and neighbouring counties.
She was expected to make an initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday. China claims control over Taiwan, while Taiwan asserts its independence.
