The FBI on Sunday arrested a 34-year-old California woman who has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent for China and allegedly surveilled the Taiwanese president’s son and his family, federal officials said.
Wanying “Heather” Zhang, of Irvine, allegedly surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official after traveling to Seattle in 2025, according to a federal complaint.
The complaint signed on Saturday alleged Zhang was directed by Chinese officials to gather information about and take photos of the relative, who was not named in the complaint. The FBI said in a social media post that Zhang had been surveilling the son of Taiwan president Lai Ching-te and his family.
China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it and has long vowed to “unify” the island with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.
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Lai has long faced Beijing’s wrath for championing the sovereignty of Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy of around 24 million people. China’s government and state media regularly rebuke him, calling him a dangerous separatist, “troublemaker” and “war maker,” while rejecting his repeated offers for talks.
Zhang and a person referred to as “Individual 1” flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on September 1, 2025, and went to the relative’s home, FBI Special Agent Kevin Holt said in the complaint.
Security camera footage from a neighbor showed Zhang and Individual 1 waited outside the unnamed relative’s home in a rented black SUV, the complaint says.
When the relative and their family arrived home, Zhang and Individual 1 “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 and/or videos of the family.”
“…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 to the PRC” if the Chinese government “wished to obtain leverage over the President of Taiwan during any potential conflict,” the complaint says, referring to the People’s Republic of China, the country’s official name.
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It’s unclear whether Zhang has an attorney. CNN has reached out to the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Chinese embassy for more details. China is currently observing a weeklong National Day holiday, during which government offices are closed.
Zhang “coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection. She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense,” First Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, said in a social media post.
She will appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday for her initial appearance, Essayli said.
Karen Kuo, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s Presidential Office, condemned the alleged actions of Zhang, calling it case of “classic transnational repression.”
Under the longstanding “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China but has never officially recognized the Communist Party’s claim to the self-governing island.
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