FBI arrests California woman accused of spying for China

The FBI has arrested a California woman accused of spying for China, US officials announced on Sunday. Wanying Z., 34, of Irvine, was detained at Los Angeles International Airport before a scheduled flight to China. She faces a charge of acting as an unregistered foreign agent and is due to appear before a federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said.

Essayli alleged that the woman travelled to Seattle in 2025 at the direction of Chinese government officials and surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official. He said she sent photographs, videos and licence-plate information to those officials. He also alleged that she coordinated the trip with an associate and used methods intended to avoid detection.

The FBI said the reported target was a son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. The agency did not initially identify the target. The source material says a New York Post report later identified him as Lai Ting-yu, who was reportedly living in the United States.

FBI Director Kash Patel welcomed the arrest and warned that the United States would not be a safe place for foreign espionage operations. The supplied material does not include a response from the defendant or her lawyers. The case comes against a wider backdrop of tension over Taiwan.

Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party support Taiwan’s distinct identity, while Beijing considers the island part of China. Washington does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is its main international supporter and arms supplier, according to the source.