Wanying Zhang, 34, a California realtor, was arrested on October 4 at the Los Angeles Airport on charges of spying for China in the US.
She is accused of acting as an unregistered agent of China and spying on a “close relative of a Taiwanese government official” in the US, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Sunday in a post on X.
A text exchange over WeChat, China’s messaging app, allegedly reveals that Zhang was surveilling Ting-Yu Lai, an engineer in the US and son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. A leaked conversation from September 2025, published by the New York Post, shows Zhang chatting with a Chinese official after spotting the president’s son. She allegedly flew to Seattle on September 1, 2025, rented a black Nissan and drove to Lai’s son’s home, according to a court document seen by AFP. Lai, who was elected president in January 2024, has been an outspoken defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty and is strongly opposed by Chinese leaders.
Zhang allegedly surveilled Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s “son and his family — filming their home, vehicles, and reporting information back to (People’s Republic of China) handlers”, the FBI said on its rapid-response account on X. Zhang travelled to Seattle in 2025 and, acting at the direction of Chinese officials, sent “photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials”, Essayli said. Lai’s office condemned the “barbaric acts”, confirming that the president’s family had been targeted.
