FBI arrests Chinese female spy at LA airport as she tried to escape. She posed as real estate agent in Irvine while spying. Thousands of Chinese sleeper agents live in U.S.

A California realtor has been arrested at LAX after being accused of spying for China.

Wanying Zhang, also known as “Heather,” was busted at the airport Sunday as she tried to board a flight to Shanghai.

The 34-year-old, who lives in Irvine, Orange County, is accused of working with handlers from the People’s Republic of China to surveil the son of Taiwan’s president Ching-Te Lai.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/california-realtor-34-busted-lax-233444145.html

‘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.

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16182917/Chinese-agent-Wanying-Heather-Zhang-arrested-spying-Taiwanese-president-son.html

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.… pic.twitter.com/6YHoeErg5B

— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) October 4, 2026