Taiwan accuses Hong Kong residents of hiring 4 people to spy on lawmaker critical of China

Four people were charged after allegedly surveilling a Taiwanese lawmaker and his family two years ago, prosecutors said on Wednesday. Lawmaker Puma Shen and the pinhole camera found on his motorbike. Photo: Puma Shen, via Facebook. Taipei prosecutors alleged that two people in Hong Kong hired the four Taiwanese defendants to follow, film and photograph Puma Shen, who is a member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and an outspoken critic of China. The defendants have been charged with offences under the Personal Data Protection Act after they “illegally collected and utilised the personal data” of Shen, his wife and daughter, thereby “causing harm” to them, prosecutors said in a media statement. China opened an investigation into Shen in October 2025 for alleged criminal “separatist activities”, a year after barring him from entering the country. Warrants issued Prosecutors allege that three of the accused placed a tiny camera in the seat of a motorbike and parked it in front of Shen’s family home in Taipei. They said the defendants collected images of Shen, his wife and their daughter as they entered and exited the residence between October 1 and November 8, 2024. A banner for Puma Shen’s campaign to become mayor of Taipei. Photo: Puma Shen. The images were sent via the messaging app Telegram to the people in Hong Kong, the statement said. The two people in Hong Kong paid one of the defendants the equivalent of US$12,700 (HK$99,669) to carry out the surveillance, it said. Arrest warrants were issued for the Hong Kong pair. Shen, who is running for Taipei mayor in local elections scheduled for November 28, did not comment immediately on the case. Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Make a one-off donation. Dateline:Taipei, Taiwan Type of Story: News ServiceProduced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to high journalistic standards. Agence France-Press (AFP) is "a leading global news agency providing fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the events shaping our world and of the issues affecting our daily lives." HKFP relies on AFP, and its international bureaus, to cover topics we cannot. Read their Ethics Code here More by AFP