A California realtor accused of spying for China was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport as she attempted to board a flight to Shanghai, according to federal authorities. Wanying Zhang, also known as “Heather,” is 34 years old and lives in Irvine, California.

Zhang is accused of working with handlers from the People’s Republic of China to conduct surveillance on Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwan President Ching-Te Lai. Ting-Yu Lai is an engineer in his 30s who works for electronics company Philips in Seattle, Washington.

A criminal complaint released by the FBI on Sunday details communications between Zhang and people investigators believe are Chinese government officials. The messages allegedly concern efforts to locate and monitor Ting-Yu Lai at his Seattle residence.

Surveillance camera photographs allegedly captured Zhang sitting in a vehicle with an accomplice while taking pictures of Lai’s home and close relatives. She allegedly traveled to Seattle in September 2025 to carry out the surveillance.

AG Bill Essayli warned that Beijing was recruiting people in California to advance its interests. “We have a problem with Beijing using Chinese-Americans for their own purposes in California,” Essayli said. “They are using them for their own foreign affairs because they are playing the long game to get a competitive advantage over us. She wasn’t spying against us; she was allegedly conducting a campaign on behalf of Beijing.”

We just arrested a Chinese foreign agent at LAX attempting to depart for China.

Wanying Zhang, aka “Heather,” 34, of Irvine, was arrested today by @FBILosAngeles on a federal complaint charging her with acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China. According to the affidavit, Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 and, at the direction of PRC officials, surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official, sending photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials. She coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection. She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense. She will appear in federal court in Los Angeles tomorrow for her initial appearance. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. — F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) October 4, 2026

According to an FBI affidavit, investigators obtained WeChat communications from Zhang’s iCloud account. Authorities say those exchanges show her communicating with two people believed to be Chinese government officials and discussing tasks that eventually resulted in surveillance of the Taiwanese president’s son.

During an exchange in September 2025, Zhang allegedly informed one of the officials that she had seen Ting-Yu Lai. “It’s that young one,” Zhang said, according to the affidavit. The official asked whether Zhang could join an audio call, but she answered that she was recording video of him.

Zhang allegedly was at Lai’s Seattle residence when that exchange occurred. She also allegedly photographed the residence and sent those images to the Chinese government officials with whom she was communicating.

“According to the affidavit, Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 and, at the direction of PRC officials, surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official, sending photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials,” Essayli said. “She coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection. She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense.”

The alleged communications date back to September 2022 and include discussions about children, investments, and differences between the United States and China. In one exchange, Zhang asked an alleged official, “Which bureau in the ministry are you in again?”

In March 2025, Zhang told an alleged Chinese government official that she intended to visit Beijing. “I will go to Beijing. Let’s organize a small gathering. Ha,” Zhang wrote after the official responded that they should meet while she was in the city.

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The text exchanges allegedly continued through June 2025 and included discussions about Zhang meeting an alleged Chinese official in the United States. The final exchanges before her Seattle trip occurred in August 2025, when Zhang wrote, “I will be busy with work in L.A. this week,” followed by, “I will probably go to Seattle next week.”

Zhang worked for a real estate firm with her husband, Edric Ding. Essayli said she was expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles for her initial appearance following the airport arrest.

The case follows another California matter involving allegations of Chinese government influence. In March, former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang entered a plea in federal court after admitting that she acted as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China.

Wang pleaded guilty after accepting a plea agreement with the Department of Justice, according to ABC7. She agreed with prosecutors that she worked with the Chinese government to promote propaganda through a fake news website operating in the United States between 2020 and 2022.

In August, former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, also known as “Fang Fang.” Those files said Swalwell had “physical relations” with Fang on at least two occasions, including one encounter after he had taken Ambien.

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