A busted-down door, an FBI search and a one-way ticket to China: Feds ask if accused Chinese agent had help

October 8, 2026 / 12:29 PM EDT / CBS News

The alleged Chinese agent arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday may have had help, according to the FBI.

Fatai Miao, a Chinese-born California construction entrepreneur, is the man believed to have accompanied realtor Wanying Zhang to Seattle in September 2025, where she allegedly surveilled the Taiwanese president's son, CBS News has learned.

Through federal documents, law enforcement sources and interviews with his family and neighbors, CBS News confirmed Miao's identity.

Miao took a "one-way" flight to China two weeks ago, prosecutors said in court on Wednesday, referring to him as "Individual 1." The Justice Department has not accused him of any wrongdoing, and a relative described him as a "follower" who would not participate in any sophisticated government activity.

Miao's neighbors in Irvine, California, said about 10 FBI agents serving a search warrant broke into his empty home using a battering ram around noon on Sunday, shortly after Zhang was arrested trying to board a flight to Shanghai.

Miao's U.S.-resident son, contacted by phone on Tuesday evening, said his father has been in China for the last two weeks to look after his wife, who recently traveled there…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/