A woman was arrested in the U.S. on suspicion of spying on the son of Taiwan's president — Reuters

On October 4, the FBI arrested California resident Wanying Zhang, who is suspected of spying on the son of Taiwan’s president. According to the investigation, the woman may have been acting on the instructions of Chinese officials.

 

According to an FBI statement, the arrest took place at Los Angeles International Airport before the woman was scheduled to fly to China. It is known that Zhang, 34, lives in Irvine, California, and authorities have charged her with acting as an unregistered foreign agent.

It is alleged that she was spying on the son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. The FBI did not directly name Zhang’s alleged target, but the New York Post later published a report identifying him as Lai Ting-yu, who resides in the United States.

For its part, the Taiwanese president’s administration called Zhang’s actions “a typical case of transnational repression” and thanked the U.S. government for protecting Taiwanese citizens.

“Our country expresses its strongest condemnation of such barbaric behavior, which disregards human rights and state sovereignty,” said a statement from Press Secretary Karen Kuhl.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice reports that Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 at the behest of Chinese officials. She sent them photographs, videos, and information about the license plates of the Taiwanese president’s son and his family.

It is also known that Zhang used operational methods to avoid detection and never informed Washington that she was acting on behalf of a foreign government.

She is expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles today, October 5.

Source: Reuters

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