A woman from California has been arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly spying on the son of Taiwan’s president.
Wanying Zhang, 34, also known as Heather, was detained on Sunday just before her scheduled flight to China, according to Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, who shared the news on X.
Zhang has been charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent. The FBI claims she monitored William Lai Ching-te’s son, later identified as Lai Ting-yu, sending images, videos, and licence plate details of the family back to Chinese officials.
Essayli described Zhang as a “Chinese foreign agent” who employed covert tactics to evade detection. He noted that she failed to inform the Attorney General about her activities on behalf of a foreign government, which constitutes a federal offence.
Zhang is set to appear in a Los Angeles federal court on Monday.
William Lai Ching-te and his Democratic Progressive Party assert that Taiwan is a sovereign nation separate from China, a view that contrasts with Beijing’s claim over the island.
While the US does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it is legally committed to providing defensive support to the island. Earlier this week, the US delivered two F-16V Block 70 fighter jets to Taiwan as part of efforts to bolster its defence against potential threats from China.
In January, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that the “reunification” of China and Taiwan is an “unstoppable” goal for Beijing.
