1 hour ago
4
The FBI fears the alleged Chinese agent arrested astatine LAX connected Sunday whitethorn effort to fly the state if released aft her tribunal proceeding connected Wednesday, instrumentality enforcement sources told CBS News.
Investigators assertion California realtor Wanying Zhang owned a concern successful China, regularly has wealth deposited successful a Chinese slope relationship and has parents, a member and sister presently surviving there, CBS News has learned.
One instrumentality enforcement root said Zhang besides had a Chinese passport that was not recovered during an FBI hunt of her home.
The sources provided accusation anonymously arsenic they were not authorized to talk connected the record. Zhang's hubby and sister declined to comment.
Wanying "Heather" Zhang.
FBI
The Orange County mother, 34, is present facing national prosecution for allegedly surveilling the Taiwanese president's lad successful Washington past twelvemonth astatine the absorption of Chinese authorities officials.
Zhang is presently successful the custody of U.S. Marshals successful Los Angeles. She was arrested Sunday trying to committee a formation to Shanghai astatine Los Angeles International Airport, CBS News was archetypal to report.
She appeared concisely successful tribunal connected Monday, represented by a nationalist defender. The justice told Zhang to get a backstage defence lawyer by the clip of her detention hearing, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Her husband, Edric Ding, a realtor astatine the aforesaid Irvine, California, firm, attended the proceeding alongside his sister, who's an attorney.
According to the transgression ailment against Zhang, she attended the University of International Relations successful Beijing betwixt 2010 and 2014, which is tally by China's Ministry of State Security, the country's quality bureau and concealed police.
FBI counterintelligence peculiar cause Kevin Holt wrote successful his affidavit successful the ailment that the ministry "recruits heavily" from the university.
Two instrumentality enforcement sources told CBS News that Zhang was 1 of the apical students successful her people astatine UIR.
Zhang's Facebook leafage shows she is friends with 8 existent oregon erstwhile unit and students astatine the university.
On Tuesday, CBS News revealed Zhang's links to a Chinese American advocacy group with heavy ties to the Chinese government.
She traveled to San Francisco with the organization, the All American Chinese Association, to observe Chinese President Xi Jinping's sojourn determination successful 2023. Pro-China activists past attacked pro-democracy protesters extracurricular Xi's hotel. There is nary grounds Zhang was progressive successful the violence.
A photograph shows her down an AACA banner, lasting adjacent to the group's leader, Edward Cai, who antecedently served arsenic vice president for an enactment truthful adjacent to the Chinese government, it was forced to registry nether the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
FARA requires agents of overseas governments to pass the Justice Department of their presumption and immoderate lobbying, attempted power oregon different activities successful the U.S.
Cai and the AACA did not respond to a petition for comment.
Reached by telephone connected Sunday, Ding told CBS News, "I don't cognize thing yet." He declined to remark further connected Monday successful national court.
In:
English (US) ·