On the 7th the Taipei District Prosecutors Office concluded its investigation into the surveillance of Puma Shen (沈伯洋), indicting four private investigators under the personal data law and issuing wanted notices for two Hong Kong clients. According to reports, the commission was placed around September 2024 for a fee of about NT$360,000, and the main contractor subcontracted it. Because Shen has bodyguards and early tailing went badly, the investigators switched to a miniature camera under a scooter seat and filmed his front gate around the clock from Oct. 1 to Nov. 8, 2024, sending the footage to the clients over Telegram. Shen did not file a complaint until 2025; Da'an Precinct traced the scooter, and the case took nearly a year. The same day, an FBI affidavit made public by the court showed that Chang Wan-ying, arrested on the 4th, was also allegedly directed by a Chinese official to trace an address in Irvine, California, linked to an anti-Communist elected official in Taiwan; U.S. authorities have not confirmed the official's identity. The DPP said this is not the first case of China's transnational repression targeting a specific politician.
Both cases show that a threat need not come from a sophisticated cyberattack; it can be cheap tailing and logging someone's routine. They also expose a gap in Taiwan's law: Chiu Chui-cheng said on the 6th that domestic law does not adequately cover helping to tail people or collect information on them, and prosecutors here relied on the personal data law, not a heavier dedicated statute.
If you are a public figure, journalist, civil servant or a family member of one, watch for unfamiliar vehicles parked near your home for long periods, and cut back on real-time location sharing on social media. If you notice you are being followed, note the time and license plate and call the police.
Prosecutors indicted and a court issued wanted notices; the judicial process is moving, which shows Taiwan can trace who is behind the scheme, and with U.S. cooperation.
The indictment targets the downstream investigators while the clients are at large; the real upstream and the source of funds remain unknown. Charging under the personal data law carries limited penalties and limited deterrence.
Watch three markers: whether the two Hong Kong nationals are entered in international wanted-person systems; whether an amendment makes “tailing and information-gathering directed by foreign forces” a standalone offense; and whether the U.S. discloses the identity of the anti-Communist elected official. Until those appear, we do not write inference as fact.
CNA · PTS · United Daily News · CTS · Radio Taiwan International · Newslens · China Times (indictment); United Daily News · World Journal · China Times · FTV · ETtoday · Apple Daily Taiwan (FBI documents) (all Oct. 7) · We have not directly read the full indictment or affidavit
Taipei prosecutors indict 4 private investigators over 24-hour watch on Puma Shen's home, issue wanted notices for 2 Hong Kong clients; FBI filing: arrested woman was also told to trace address of anti-Communist Taiwanese elected official
Two China-linked surveillance cases surfaced on the same day: one in Taipei, with Hong Kong clients; one in Los Angeles, where the arrested woman had watched President Lai's eldest son. Both are still in judicial proceedings. The identities of the official and the clients, and the chain of command above them, are the next things to watch.
On the 7th, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office concluded its investigation into the surveillance of Puma Shen (沈伯洋), indicting four private investigators under the Personal Data Protection Act and issuing wanted notices for the two Hong Kong nationals who commissioned the job. According to CNA, PTS, United Daily News and Radio Taiwan International, the commission was placed around September 2024 for a fee of about NT$360,000. The main contractor subcontracted the work. Because Shen has bodyguards and early tailing went badly, the investigators switched to a miniature camera hidden under a scooter seat and filmed the gate of his home around the clock from Oct. 1 to Nov. 8, 2024, sending the footage to the clients over Telegram. Reports say Shen did not file a complaint until 2025; Taipei's Da'an Precinct traced a scooter registered in an elderly person's name, and it took nearly a year to solve the case. Prosecutors judged that the four had cooperated with a hostile foreign force. The DPP said this is not the first case of China's transnational repression targeting a specific politician. Shen is the DPP's candidate for Taipei mayor.
A second thread runs through the United States. An affidavit by an FBI agent, made public by the court, shows that Chang Wan-ying (張婉瑩), arrested at Los Angeles airport on the 4th and accused of surveilling President Lai's eldest son, was also allegedly directed by Chinese officials to trace an address in Irvine, California, linked to an anti-Communist elected official in Taiwan. The affidavit redacts the address and does not explain how the official is connected to it. CNA asked the U.S. Attorney's Office to confirm the official's identity and had no confirmation by press time. That section of the document is the agent's inference and a footnote, not an established fact, and the defendant has not been convicted. In Taiwan the case has become a policy issue: Premier Cho Jung-tai said on the 6th that cross-border repression is now a reality, and the Mainland Affairs Council said it will amend the law and draw up guidelines for the public. Taken together, the two cases share a pattern: the targets are individuals tied to Taiwan's politics or national security, and the method is cheap tailing and logging daily routines.
Three questions remain unanswered. First, whether the two Hong Kong clients have already left Taiwan's jurisdiction. Second, whether current Taiwanese law adequately covers “helping to tail people and collect information on them”; Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said on the 6th that it does not. Third, who the anti-Communist elected official in the U.S. documents is, and whether that will be made public. Until these have clear answers, this page reports only facts cited by two or more outlets.