An Irvine real estate agent accused of spying on the son of Taiwan’s president for the Chinese government made her first court appearance Monday in downtown Los Angeles, while her husband refused to answer reporters’ questions outside the courthouse.
Wanying Zhang, 34, appeared before a judge wearing a high-collared designer jacket, black pants and shackles. Her husband, Edric Ding, watched from the courtroom.
The hearing opened and quickly stalled. Seconds in, Zhang’s public defender, Chad Pennington, requested a sidebar with the judge, triggering a 20-minute recess. When proceedings resumed, Zhang was asked whether she understood the charges against her. She answered, “Yes.” The case was then continued to Wednesday while Zhang, according to Pennington, “considered retaining private council.”
Ding spent the afternoon in the courthouse hallway scrolling on his phone. As he left, he was questioned by a reporter and asked directly whether his wife was a Chinese spy. He said nothing and at times tried to block the camera.
Arrested at LAX Boarding a Flight to Shanghai
Zhang, who also goes by “Heather” and lives in Irvine in Orange County, was arrested Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport as she attempted to board a flight to Shanghai. Video of the arrest shows FBI agents leading her through the terminal in handcuffs.
The USC-educated realtor is accused of working with handlers from the People’s Republic of China to surveil Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwan’s president, Ching-Te Lai. Ting-Yu Lai is an engineer in his 30s who works in the U.S. for electronics company Philips.
According to the FBI’s criminal complaint, Zhang traveled to Seattle in September 2025 to track him. Surveillance photographs allegedly show her sitting in a car with an accomplice, photographing his house and relatives.
Text messages cited in the complaint show Zhang telling a Chinese government official that she had spotted the president’s son: “It’s that young one,” she allegedly wrote. When the official asked to discuss the matter over an audio call, Zhang reportedly replied that she was busy recording video of him. Those text exchanges form a central piece of the government’s case.
Part of a Pattern in California
Zhang worked for a real estate firm alongside her husband, Edric Ding. Her arrest is the latest in a string of cases alleging Chinese government infiltration in California. Former Arcadia mayor Eileen Wang entered a federal plea in March after admitting she had spied for China. In August, newly released FBI files revealed former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell had confessed to a prescription-drug-fueled affair with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, known as “Fang Fang.”
“We have a problem with Beijing using Chinese-Americans for their own purposes in California. They are using them for their own foreign affairs because they are playing the long game to get a competitive advantage over us,” California Attorney General Bill Essayli said.
