California real estate agent accused of spying on Taiwanese president’s son for China

A real estate agent in California was arrested over the weekend for allegedly spying on the son of Taiwan’s president at China’s behest, US officials said.

Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, was detained at the Los Angeles airport just as she was leaving for China on Sunday. The Californian was charged with acting as an unregistered foreign national.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court, Ms Zhang travelled with an associate, identified as “Individual 1”, to Seattle in September 2025 and, “at the direction” of Chinese officials, conducted surveillance on a Taiwanese official’s relative, taking pictures and videos, and collecting vehicle plate details before passing it onto her alleged handler.

While the FBI didn’t name the alleged target, the New York Post reported it was Lai Ting-yu, son of Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te and an American resident.

“She coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection,” First acting US Attorney Bill Essayli said, adding that she was due to appear before federal court in Los Angeles on Monday.

Her husband Edric Ding, also a realtor, told the CBS on Sunday the he did “not know anything yet”. It was not immediately clear if Ms Zhang had an attorney.

The Taiwanese president’s son, an engineer in his 30s, lives with his wife and their US-born young child. He works with the Dutch multinational electronics firm Philips.

According to the criminal complaint, security camera footage showed Ms Zhang and Individual 1 waiting outside Mr Lai’s home in a rented SUV. When Mr Lai or his family members arrived, they “quickly sat up within a black SUV, took out what appears to be their phones, and held their phones out in a manner indicating that they were taking pictures or videos of the family”.

“If the PRC wish to obtain leverage over the president of Taiwan during any potential conflict,” FBI special agent Kevin Holt wrote in the complaint, filed on 3 October, referring to China by its formal name, People’s Republic of China, “the location and pictures of the close relatives of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official, including pictures of their homes and cars, could be useful.”

Taiwan’s presidential office described Ms Zhang’s actions as a “typical case of transnational repression” and thanked the US government for protecting Taiwanese citizens.

“Our country expresses ​the strongest condemnation of such barbaric conduct that disregards human rights and the sovereignty of ​nations,” spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement.

China did not issue a statement. The country is observing the weeklong National Day holiday, during which government offices remain shut.

Mr Lai ⁠and his Democratic Progressive Party champion Taiwan’s separate identity from China, a stance that angers Beijing, which sees the island as its sovereign territory.

Mr Lai says that the people of Taiwan alone can decide their future.