California: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a California woman at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, accusing her of spying on the Taiwan president Lai Ching-te's family for China.
The FBI arrested Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather on Sunday before her planned departure to China, the agency said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Taiwan presidential office on Monday condemned the alleged acts of Zhang as a "typical case of transnational repression".
Footage released by Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, on his X page showed FBI agents escorting Zhang through the airport terminal.
Authorities charged Zhang, 34, of Irvine, California, with acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
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The FBI said Zhang surveilled a son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. The agency did not directly name Zhang's alleged target, but later shared a New York Post report identifying him as Lai Ting-yu, a US resident.
The Justice Department said Zhang travelled to Seattle in 2025 at the direction of Chinese officials and subsequently sent them photos, video and licence plate information of the Taiwanese leader's son and his family.
Essayli said Zhang used tradecraft to avoid detection and never notified Washington that she was acting for a foreign government.
The Chinese embassy in Washington and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was not immediately clear whether Zhang has a defence attorney. She will appear on Monday, October 5, in a Los Angeles federal court, Essayli said.
Taiwan accuses China of 'transnational repression'
Taiwan presidential office condemned what it called a "typical case of transnational repression" after US authorities arrested Zhang.
“Taiwan condemns in the strongest terms such barbaric acts — which disregard human rights and national sovereignty and aim to suppress, threaten, or even harm individuals advocating for freedom and democracy or their families — as such behaviour should not be tolerated in the civilised world,” spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement.
The Chinese Embassy in the US did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday and the Foreign Ministry in Beijing was closed for holidays.
Taiwan-China tensions
Taiwan and China split after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing claims the island as part of its own territory. Lai, who was voted into office in 2024, has said that Taiwan and Beijing do not belong to each other and that the “People's Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan.”
China considers him a separatist and has called him a “destroyer of peace.”
While in office, Lai has stepped up spending on defence for Taiwan, notably pledging to increase defence spending from 3 per cent to 5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and pushing through a special budget for the construction of a T-Dome air defence system.
(With inputs from Reuters & AP via PTI)
