Follow-Up: Zhang Wanying Pleads Not Guilty in Los Angeles: Trial Set for November 30 in Alleged Unregistered Chinese Agent Case
Wanying “Heather” Zhang, a Southern California real estate agent accused of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government, pleaded not guilty on October 23 in federal court in Los Angeles to charges of conspiracy and being an unregistered foreign agent. According to the Associated Press, Zhang, 34, appeared in a white jumpsuit and shackles, speaking only briefly to deny prosecutors' allegation that she surveilled the son of Taiwan's leader Lai Ching-te in a Seattle suburb in September 2025.
The not-guilty plea puts the case on track for trial, where the Justice Department must present evidence that she conspired with Chinese intelligence officials on what prosecutors call a spy mission. Zhang was arrested earlier this month at Los Angeles International Airport as she attempted to board a flight to China.
Zhang's husband, Edric Ding, who worked with her as a realtor at the same Irvine firm and appeared at earlier hearings, did not attend Friday's brief hearing. A pretrial hearing is set for November 12, and trial is scheduled to begin November 30 in federal court in Santa Ana, expected to last four days. If convicted, Zhang faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Source: GSM·America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：洛杉矶市中心的联邦法院大楼。摄影：Daniel L. Lu，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: a federal courthouse building in downtown Los Angeles, by Daniel L. Lu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-23Follow-Up: Zhang Wanying Pleads Not Guilty in Los Angeles: Trial Set for November 30 in Alleged Unregistered Chinese Agent CaseThis story
