US accuses mainland China of targeting Taiwan leader’s family for surveillance - South China Morning Post

Nayan Sethin WashingtonandHan Liin Washington, DCPublished: 6:16am, 6 Oct 2026Updated: 12:10pm, 6 Oct 2026The United States has accused mainland China of hiring an American citizen of Chinese origin to surveil the family of Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te, days after President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington.The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Sunday arrested 34-year-old Zhang Wanying at Los Angeles International Airport, alleging that she attempted to flee the country and charged her with acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government.The FBI accused her of surveilling the Taiwanese leader’s son and his family in Seattle last year, filming their home and vehicles and sharing the footage with handlers in China.

“The Chinese government allegedly sent an operative to surveil the family of Taiwan’s President ON AMERICAN SOIL – photos, video, license plates – then she tried to hop a flight back to Shanghai. Wrong move,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media.