An Irvine woman accused of spying on family members of Taiwan’s president is expected to be arraigned Friday in downtown Los Angeles on federal charges of conspiracy and being an unregistered foreign agent for China.
Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, was arrested in early October by the FBI at Los Angeles International Airport as she was attempting to travel to China, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Federal prosecutors contend Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025, and, at the direction of the People’s Republic of China, monitored the Taiwanese president’s son and his family for the Chinese government, sending photos, videos and license plate information to Chinese officials.
Zhang allegedly coordinated the trip with an associate, using spying techniques to avoid detection, according to court papers.
Prosecutors said she never notified the attorney general she was acting for a foreign government, which constitutes a federal offense.
If convicted, Zhang could face up to 10 years in federal prison.
FBI Director Kash Patel previously trumpeted the arrest on social media.
“Foreign adversaries take note: America is no longer a safe place to run your espionage operations,” Patel wrote.
A spokesperson for Taiwan’s presidential office described Zhang’s suspected actions as a “classic case of transnational repression.”
“Taiwan condemns in the strongest terms such barbaric acts — which disregard human rights and national sovereignty and aim to suppress, threaten, or even harm individuals advocating for freedom and democracy or their families — as such behavior should not be tolerated in the civilized world,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence and espionage division, called Zhang’s alleged actions part of a “brazen plot directed by the Chinese government” to spy on relatives of a Taiwanese government official on U.S. soil.
“Wanying Zhang’s arrest for allegedly acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government makes clear how far China’s authoritarian regime will go to advance its goals,” he said. “However, this case also demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to defending the sovereignty of our democratic allies and combating all attempts by the Chinese government — and any foreign adversary — to conduct transnational repression within our borders.”