California Woman Arrested on Charges Alleging She Acted as Agent of China – finchannel
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EXCERPT:
Wanying Zhang, 34, also known as Heather Zhang, of Irvine, California, was arrested Sunday on a one count complaint charging her with acting in the United States as an unregistered agent of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including by conducting surveillance on family members of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official.
“The central allegation here — that Zhang, at the behest of the People’s Republic of China, covertly surveilled relatives of a high-ranking foreign government official in the United States — is deeply troubling,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The National Security Division and U.S. Attorney’s Offices, along with the FBI and other law enforcement partners, will remain vigilant against threats like this on our soil.”
“Protecting our national security means confronting foreign governments that engage in covert operations in our nation,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “Ms. Zhang is charged with acting at the direction of Chinese government officials to spy on the family of a senior Taiwanese official here in the United States. She violated our laws and will be held accountable in our courts. We will aggressively investigate and prosecute illegal foreign operations on American soil.”