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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》US vows to protect from repression
The seal of the US Department of State is pictured in Washington in an undated photograph. Photo: Reuters
SOVEREIGN SOIL: The remarks from US officials come after a woman was arrested for allegedly spying on the family of William Lai’s son, who lives and works in the US
Staff writer, with CNA
The US yesterday vowed to protect people on its soil from “the overreach of foreign governments” after a woman was arrested on Sunday by the FBI for allegedly surveilling President William Lai’s （賴清德） son for China.
“We are committed to safeguarding our sovereignty, keeping our communities safe, and defending individuals from the overreach of foreign governments and regimes trying to silence, intimidate, harass, harm or coerce individuals within our borders,” a US Department of State spokesperson said in response to a request for comment.
First Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said 34-year-old Zhang Wanying, a California real-estate agent, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport before she departed for China. The arrest of Zhang, a Chinese-born naturalized US citizen, drew comment from US lawmakers on the security threats posed by Beijing.
Writing on X, US Senator Marsha Blackburn accused China of “trying to export its repressive surveillance to America,” while US Senator Pete Ricketts said the US “must remain vigilant” to the threat posed by “spies and deception on American soil.”
Essayli said in a post on X that Zhang was arrested for acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government and spying on a close relative of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the Chinese government had allegedly sent an operative to the US to surveil the “family of Taiwan’s president.”
CBS News, citing an FBI complaint, reported on Sunday that Zhang and a man identified only as “Individual 1” flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on Sept. 1 last year, rented a vehicle and drove to the the home of Lai Ting-yu （賴廷與）.
The report said images from a neighbor’s security camera included in the complaint appeared to show the two filming Lai Ting-yu, his wife and their child as they arrived home that evening.
It added that Zhang allegedly messaged a Chinese government handler via WeChat, citing a search warrant for her iCloud account.
Zhang appeared in court on Monday for a preliminary hearing, but has yet to be formally indicted, the Associated Press reported.
Lai Ting-yu, an engineer in his 30s who studied at a US college, works for Dutch electronics company Philips, local media reported.
The Presidential Office on Monday condemned the alleged surveillance of William Lai’s son, describing it as a “typical case of transnational repression.”
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
