Wanying Zhang, 34, of Irvine, California, was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, 8 July 2026, before she could board a flight to China, the FBI said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation says Zhang acted as an unregistered foreign agent for Chinese officials, collecting and transmitting photos, videos and license‑plate data of Lai Ting‑yu, the son of Taiwan’s president.
Zhang allegedly flew to Seattle in 2025 at the behest of Chinese authorities and sent the material back to Beijing, according to the FBI's statement. “She used tradecraft to avoid detection, never notifying Washington that she was acting for a foreign government,” Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said.
The Chinese embassy in Washington and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States have not yet responded to requests for comment. Lai Ting‑yu, a U.S. resident, has not publicly commented on the allegations.
Zhang is charged under 18 U.S.C. § 951 and will appear before a federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday, prosecutors said. The case could influence the U.S.’s stance on Taiwan‑China tensions.
For residents of Irvine and the wider Los Angeles area, the arrest underscores the reach of foreign espionage networks that can target U.S. citizens with close ties to Taiwan.