Feds investigate if accused Chinese agent had help in the U.S.
Fatai Miao, a Chinese-born California construction entrepreneur, is believed to be the man who accompanied accused Chinese agent Wanying Zhang to surveil the Taiwanese president's son.
FBI agents conducted a search warrant at Fatai Miao's empty home in Irvine, California, after his daughter announced he was under investigation for allegedly assisting a Chinese government agent in a surveillance operation. Miao, a Chinese-born construction entrepreneur, was accused of accompanying realtor Wanying Zhang to Seattle in September 2025 for the purpose of surveilling the son of Taiwan's president.
According to federal court documents, Miao and Zhang rented a car, which was registered to a property owned by Miao in Arcadia, California. The FBI agent who wrote the affidavit for Zhang's arrest affidavit noted that Miao sold the house at that address on September 11, 2025. Miao's son, Jiaqi, stated that his father had been in China for two weeks to care for his wife, who had traveled there for medical treatment.
Miao's neighbors reported that FBI agents broke into his home with a battering ram on Sunday, shortly after Zhang's arrest. The agents left behind signs of their presence, such as a broken door handle and a damaged doorbell. Jiaqi Miao, his son, believes his father is merely a follower who would not participate in any sophisticated government activity and does not think his father is an unregistered agent for the Chinese government.
Zhang is currently held without bail due to the risk of her fleeing, as she has access to hundreds of thousands of dollars in China. Miao has hired a lawyer, and the FBI is treating him as a person of interest in the investigation.
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