California woman indicted on charges she was spying for China

A California woman who prosecutors allege was spying on a son of Taiwan’s president was indicted this month on charges of conspiracy and being an unregistered foreign agent for China.

The indictment was filed Oct. 9 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and the allegations it lays out mirror an earlier criminal complaint against the woman, Wanying Zhang, 34, of Irvine.

Prosecutors say Zhang, who also goes by Heather, spied on a son of Taiwan’s president outside his home in the Seattle area at the behest of Chinese officials. The spying is alleged to have taken place between roughly June and September 2025, prosecutors claim.

Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy that is the source of 90% of the world’s “leading-edge chip manufacturing,” according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. China claims Taiwan, which the U.S. has recognized for nearly half a century, though it is required by law to ensure Taiwan can defend itself.

Prosecutors allege Zhang was under the direction of an unnamed Chinese government official and former classmate at her alma mater, China’s University of International Relations, which is “closely affiliated with China’s intelligence apparatus,” an FBI investigator said in earlier court documents.

An…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business