United States authorities have arrested a 34-year-old California woman accused of spying on the son of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on behalf of Chinese officials.
The FBI said Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather, was arrested on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport while preparing to travel to China.
She was charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
According to the FBI, Zhang surveilled one of Lai’s sons in 2025.
The agency did not initially identify the alleged target, but a later report by the New York Post named him as Lai Ting-yu, a US resident.
The US Justice Department alleged that Zhang travelled to Seattle in 2025 on the instructions of Chinese officials, where she gathered photographs, videos and vehicle licence plate information involving the Taiwanese president’s son and his family.
Authorities also accused Zhang of using methods designed to avoid detection and failing to disclose that she was working on behalf of a foreign government.
Taiwan’s presidential office described the alleged activities 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’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zhang is expected to appear before a federal court in Los Angeles on Monday. It was not immediately clear whether she had secured legal representation.
The case comes amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory, while Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party support Taiwan’s separate identity and maintain that the island’s future should be decided by its people.
