The Presidential Office today condemned China's transnational repression after an alleged Chinese foreign agent was arrested in California yesterday on suspicion of surveilling President William Lai's (賴清德) son, Lai Ting-yu (賴廷與), the FBI said.
The 34-year-old woman, named Wanying Heather Zhang (張婉瑩), was arrested on suspicion of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, US news agency CBS reported.
She was apprehended at Los Angeles International Airport yesterday attempting to fly to Shanghai, it said.
Photo courtesy of the FBI
This represents a “typical case” of China’s transnational repression, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said today.
"Our country expresses the strongest condemnation of such barbaric conduct that disregards human rights and the sovereignty of nations," she said.
The motive of transnational repression is to suppress, threaten and even bring harm to those who uphold the values of freedom and democracy and their family, she said, adding that such behavior should not be tolerated in civilized societies.
Kuo also thanked the US authorities for their assistance and protection, and said Taiwan would continue working with the US and other democratic allies to combat such illegal acts.
FBI special agent Kevin Holt wrote in a criminal complaint on Saturday that Zhang, a realtor from Irvine, California, and an unidentified man flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on Sept. 1 last year and drove to the target's home in a rented car.
Home security camera footage from a neighbor showed the pair appearing to film Lai Ting-yu, his wife and their child as they arrived home that evening, the complaint said.
Zhang then allegedly messaged her Chinese government contact: "I am videorecording," "Saw him. Young male. It's that young one," before sending two license plate numbers, it said.
The complaint says that Zhang was introduced to a Chinese government official in June last year by a former classmate from Beijing's University of International Relations, which Holt said has close ties to China’s Ministry of State Security.
That same month, she traveled to Changsha, China, where she met with a government official, it said.
"If the PRC [People's Republic of China] wish to obtain leverage over the president of Taiwan during any potential conflict, the location and pictures of the close relatives of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official, including pictures of their homes and cars, could be useful to the PRC," Holt said.
Chang was to appear today in a Los Angeles federal court, first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said in a statement.
Zhang's husband Edric Ding, who is also a realtor at the same company, declined to comment, CBS reported.
Additional reporting by Wang Yang-yu
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