October 05, 2026
FBI arrests California realtor at LAX — accused of spying on Taiwan president's family for China
Headline card by The Night Desk
FBI arrests California realtor at LAX — accused of spying on Taiwan president's family for China
October 5, 2026 — Federal agents arrested a 34-year-old California woman Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport as she attempted to board a flight to China, accusing her of surveilling the son of Taiwan's president on behalf of the Chinese government.
Wanying Zhang, who also goes by "Heather," of Irvine, California, is charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the People's Republic of China, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced.
What authorities say happened
According to the FBI and the Justice Department:
- Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 at the direction of Chinese officials.
- Acting with an associate, she photographed and recorded the son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and his family outside their Seattle-area home, sending photos, videos, and license plate information to Chinese officials.
- She used tradecraft to avoid detection and never notified the U.S. Attorney General that she was acting for a foreign government — a federal offense.
- Agents arrested her at LAX on Sunday as she tried to depart for Shanghai.
Zhang, a naturalized U.S. citizen who works as a California realtor, was due to appear Monday in federal court in Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear whether she had a defense attorney.
The FBI did not directly name Zhang's alleged target, but later shared a New York Post report identifying him as Lai Ting-yu, a U.S. resident.
The reactions
Essayli announced the arrest on X, writing: "We just arrested a Chinese foreign agent at LAX attempting to depart for China." Speaking later on Fox News' The Big Weekend Show, he said Zhang "was conducting surveillance on behalf of the Chinese government."
FBI Director Kash Patel weighed in on X with a warning to foreign adversaries: "America is no longer a safe place to run your espionage operations."
Taiwan's Presidential Office confirmed President Lai Ching-te's relatives were the targets, calling it "a classic case of transnational repression."
"Taiwan condemns in the strongest terms such barbaric acts — which disregard human rights and national sovereignty and aim to suppress, threaten, or even harm individuals advocating for freedom and democracy or their families," presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement.
The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Why it matters
Taiwan and China split after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing claims the island as its own territory. President Lai, elected in 2024, has said Taiwan and Beijing "do not belong to each other," and China considers him a separatist. Lai has stepped up Taiwan's defense spending, pledging to raise it from 3% to 5% of GDP.
This is a developing story — we'll update as details from Monday's court appearance land.
Source: The Associated Press, via NPR. Additional reporting: Reuters.
Source: The Associated Press / Reuters — read the original report
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