Chinese agent posing as California realtor arrested at LAX for allegedly spying on son of Taiwanese president

A suspected Chinese agent was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday after she allegedly spied on the Taiwanese president's son and his family.Wanying 'Heather' Zhang, 34, a real estate agent based in Irvine, California, was taken into custody by federal agents on Sunday before she boarded a flight to Shanghai and was charged with acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.Authorities claim Zhang and an unidentified accomplice traveled to Seattle, Washington, in September 2025 to take photos at the suburban home of a top Taiwanese official's family.'If the PRC [People's Republic of China] wish to obtain leverage over the President of Taiwan during any potential conflict, the location and pictures of the close relatives of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official, including pictures of their homes and cars, could be useful to the PRC,' Special Agent Kevin Holt wrote in an October 3 criminal complaint.China has long maintained that it has control over Taiwan, which asserts its independence. Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News the target was Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Ching-Te Lai. Ting-Yu, an engineer in his 30s, attended college in the United States and has an American-born son with his wife, Hsiao Chen. He now works for multinational electronics company Philips. Wanying 'Heather' Zhang, 34, was taken into custody on Sunday and charged with acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government She was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport before she attempted to board a plane to Shanghai, ChinaAccording to the criminal complaint obtained by CBS News, Zhang and a man only identified in court documents as 'Individual 1' flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on September 1, 2025, rented a black Nissan Rogue and drove to Ting-Yu's home. Images from a neighbor's security camera footage included in the complaint allegedly showed them 'appearing to film' Ting-Yu, his wife and their child as they arrived home that evening. Zhang then allegedly texted her Chinese government handler: 'Saw him. Young male. It's the young one' and 'I am video recording,' followed by two license plate numbers.The texts were obtained from a search warrant on Zhang's iCloud account, the criminal complaint notes.It then goes on to assert she 'was in contact with at least two people whom she appeared to acknowledge worked for the PRC government.' She was allegedly first introduced to one of the Chinese government officials in June 2025 by a classmate from her alma mater, Beijing's University of International Relations, which Holt said has close ties to the country's Ministry of State Security. Zhang is then said to have booked a private room in Changsha, China, for a June 2025 trip, where she allegedly met with the government official and received her surveillance mission.Later, she allegedly texted the official: 'I can take care of this thing.' Zhang is a licensed California real estate agent with JC Pacific Capital Inc Zhang is pictured in the criminal complaint with an unidentified accomplice Zhang allegedly flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on September 1, 2025, rented a black Nissan Rogue and drove to Ting-Yu Lai's homeZhang is then said to have texted a Chinese government official again on August 25, 2025, writing: 'I will be busy with work in LA this week. I will probably go to Seattle next week.'The official then replied, 'OK. Thank you for your hard work,' according to the criminal complaint.Bill Essayli, first US Attorney for the Central District of California, said she has since 'used tradecraft' to avoid detection from American authorities and never notified the Attorney General she was acting as an agent for a foreign government. Zhang is a licensed California real estate agent with JC Pacific Capital Inc.Her Zillow profile shows she has 130 sales and listings around LA and neighboring counties. Zhang is now expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday for an initial appearance. The Daily Mail has reached out to the Taiwanese Consulate for comment. This is a breaking news story and will be updated.