A busted-down door, an FBI search and a one-way ticket to China: Feds ask if accused Chinese agent had help
The alleged Chinese agent arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday may have had help, according to the FBI.
Through federal documents, law enforcement sources and interviews with his family and neighbors, CBS News confirmed Miao's identity.
Miao's neighbors in Irvine, California, said about 10 FBI agents serving a search warrant broke into his empty home using a battering ram around noon on Sunday, shortly after Zhang was arrested trying to board a flight to Shanghai.
Miao allegedly joined Zhang in Seattle on Sept. 1, 2025, rented an SUV, and was in the car while she allegedly filmed Taiwan's first son returning to his suburban home with his wife and child, according to documents filed in federal court, which identified him only as "Individual 1."
Prosecutors claim Zhang was conducting the surveillance on the orders of Chinese government officials, after meeting with them in China to plan the mission the previous month.
The FBI agent who wrote an affidavit for the criminal complaint against Zhang left a trail of clues that helped CBS News reveal Miao as the likely unnamed travel companion.
"Based on public records, I know that Individual 1 sold a house at this address on or about September 11, 2025," the FBI agent wrote.
CBS News has learned that Miao is a person of interest in the FBI's Zhang investigation.
When a CBS News reporter visited the property on Tuesday, the handle on the front door was snapped and there was a large dent that splintered the wood beside it. The home's video doorbell had been ripped from the wall.
"Me and my sister got a call on Sunday noon," said Miao's son, Jiaqi Miao, in a telephone interview. "Someone says he's from the FBI and he has a search warrant. I thought he's a scammer.
Jiaqi Miao said the agents arrived in "five or six SUVs and one big truck."
"We rented her the pool house for a few months," he said. "I think her own house had some renovations going on."
Dive deeper
- The alleged Chinese agent arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday may have had help, according to the FBI.
- Through federal documents, law enforcement sources and interviews with his family and neighbors, CBS News confirmed Miao's identity.
- Miao's neighbors in Irvine, California, said about 10 FBI agents serving a search warrant broke into his empty home using a battering ram around noon on Sunday, shortly after Zhang was arrested trying to board a flight to Shanghai.
- Miao allegedly joined Zhang in Seattle on Sept. 1, 2025, rented an SUV, and was in the car while she allegedly filmed Taiwan's first son returning to his suburban home with his wife and child, according to documents filed in federal court,
- Prosecutors claim Zhang was conducting the surveillance on the orders of Chinese government officials, after meeting with them in China to plan the mission the previous month.