By Khedroob Thondup

The story of a woman on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet who was stopped at a checkpoint and confronted with photographs of her participation in a reception at the Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) representative office in Taipei is more than an isolated incident. It is a window into the quiet but pervasive reach of Chinese intelligence operations in Taiwan.

Surveillance Beyond Borders

Chinese intelligence has long relied on a mix of overt and covert tactics to monitor Tibetan exile communities. What is striking here is the precision: the woman was shown images of her presence at a CTA reception in Taipei, a space meant to symbolise cultural resilience and political continuity. This demonstrates that Beijing’s surveillance is not confined to Tibet or mainland China—it extends into Taiwan, a territory it claims but does not control.

Taiwan as a Strategic Theatre

Why Taiwan...