The FBI fears Wanying Zhang could try to leave the United States if released after a court hearing, law enforcement sources told CBS News. Zhang is charged with allegedly acting as an unregistered agent of China.
Zhang, 34, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Oct. 4 before a planned flight to Shanghai. The U.S. Justice Department said she faces a complaint charging her with acting as an unregistered agent of China. The complaint also alleges surveillance of relatives of a senior Taiwanese official.
Investigators allege Zhang and an accomplice photographed the family’s home in the U.S. Pacific Northwest in 2025. The Justice Department says she allegedly acted at the direction of Chinese officials. The department noted that the claims in a criminal complaint are allegations, and Zhang is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
CBS, citing anonymous law enforcement sources, reported that Zhang owns a business in China, has a bank account there and has relatives living in the country. One source also said a Chinese passport was not found during a search of her home. The sources were not authorised to speak on the record.
CBS said Zhang is being held by U.S. Marshals in Los Angeles. A judge postponed her detention hearing to give her time to hire a private attorney. Her husband and sister declined to comment.
CBS previously reported Zhang’s links to the All American Chinese Association, which took part in events during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2023 visit to San Francisco. The network said there is no evidence Zhang was involved in attacks by pro-China activists on pro-democracy demonstrators.