U.S. authorities arrested a California real estate agent accused of working on behalf of Chinese officials to surveil the son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), in what Taipei called a case of “transnational repression.”
Wanying “Heather” Zhang (張婉瑩), 34, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday while preparing to board a flight to Shanghai, according to CBS News. She was charged with acting as an unregistered agent for a foreign government.
The case points to alleged Chinese operations beyond Taiwan’s borders, as Beijing applies military and political pressure to enforce its claim to the island nation. It also raises security concerns for family members of senior Taiwanese officials living abroad.
The FBI complaint alleges that Zhang and an unnamed accomplice traveled to the Seattle area last September to surveil a close relative of a senior Taiwanese official.
Law enforcement sources identified the target as Lai Ting-yu (賴廷與), one of President Lai’s sons, CBS News reported. Ting-yu, Lai’s eldest son, is an engineer in his 30s who studied electrical engineering in Taiwan before pursuing graduate studies in the United States, according to public biographical information and Taiwanese media reports. He currently works as an engineer for Phillipps, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has largely stayed out of his father’s political life.
Zhang and her accomplice allegedly photographed the family’s home and vehicles, and video-recorded license plate numbers and the family as they returned home, according to the complaint.
The New York Post, citing the complaint, reported that Zhang sent messages, photographs and information about the family’s home and vehicles to contacts that investigators described as linked to the Chinese government.
In a statement, Taiwan’s Presidential Office spokesperson Kuo Ya-hui (郭雅慧) said the alleged operation is a “classic case of transnational repression,” saying it sought to suppress, threaten or harm people who support freedom and democracy, as well as their families.
Kuo said the conduct disregarded human rights and national sovereignty. She thanked U.S. authorities for their help and said Taiwan will continue to counter such illegal conduct with the U.S. and other democratic allies.
The allegations in the complaint have not been proven in court. Zhang is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. She is expected to make her first appearance in federal court in Los Angeles on October 5.
Edric Ding, Zhang’s husband and a realtor for the same company she works for, told CBS News that “I don’t know anything yet,” and declined to comment.
China’s Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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