Wanying “Heather” Zhang. Via X.
Wanying “Heather” Zhang, a Chinese real estate agent based in Southern California, has entered a not guilty plea to a federal charge that she has been acting as a Chinese foreign agent.
Federal authorities arrested Zhang, 34, at the Los Angeles International Airport in early October. The Federal Bureau of Investigation accused her of going to Seattle to spy on Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwan’s president, last September. Lai lives in the Seattle area.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X that Zhang allegedly “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.”
Essayli also wrote that Zhang allegedly “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.”
Zhang’s trial is set for Nov. 30 in Santa Ana, California. If she is found guilty, she could face up to 10 years in prison.
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