A suspected Chinese agent appeared in a Los Angeles federal court on Monday after she was accused of surveilling the son of Taiwan’s president near Seattle last year. Wanying “Heather” Zhang, a 34-year-old Orange County realtor, appeared in court in shackles following her arrest by the FBI on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport before she could board a flight to Shanghai. Zhang spoke only to confirm her name and acknowledge the charge of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government. Judge Steve Kim postponed her detention hearing until Wednesday to give Zhang time to retain private legal counsel, and she was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals. Zhang’s husband, Edric Ding, attended the hearing alongside his sister, attorney Elaine Lori, though both declined to comment to reporters outside the courthouse. Three prosecutors represented the Justice Department at the proceeding. Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, shared a video on social media showing federal law enforcement escorting Zhang through the airport. A criminal complaint filed by an FBI counterintelligence agent in Los Angeles alleges that Zhang and an accomplice traveled to Seattle in September 2025 to take photographs at the suburban home of a high-ranking Taiwanese official’s family. Law enforcement sources confirmed that the surveillance targeted Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Ching-Te Lai. Ting-Yu Lai is an engineer in his 30s working for the Dutch firm Philips who lives in the United States with his wife and child. An FBI affidavit outlines text messages recovered between Zhang and Chinese government handlers during the Seattle trip, including messages stating she was recording video. Security camera footage from a neighbor reportedly captured Zhang filming the family as they arrived home. Alongside the airport arrest, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Zhang’s rented home in an upscale Irvine suburb, with neighbors reporting heavy law enforcement presence at the property. Property records show Zhang previously sold a nearby multi-million-dollar home earlier in the year. The Justice Department alleges Zhang operated as an unregistered Chinese agent between June and September 2025, planning the covert surveillance operation during a trip to China. Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division stated that the case exposes a brazen directive by Beijing to conduct covert surveillance on American soil against the relatives of foreign officials. Neither the Chinese nor the Taiwanese governments have responded to requests for comment regarding the arrest.
Source: cbsnews.com
