Credit reporting agency collects 360,000 Hong Kong residents to follow Shen Boyang. Mainland Affairs Council: Cross-border suppression is not just for intimidation

During 2024, Shen Boyang, the Taipei mayoral candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party, was monitored by a Taiwanese credit reporting agency across the sea from Hong Kong citizens. The Beijing Inspection Bureau today concluded that four people were prosecuted for illegal collection and use of personal information by non-public agencies under the "Personal Data Protection Act", and Hong Kong employers Ju Juexian and Lin Qing were wanted. The Mainland Affairs Council emphasized today that judging from the several cases that have occurred so far, the Chinese Communist Party has assigned agents, gangs, local collaborators, etc. to carry out cross-border suppression in an organized and planned manner.

Shen Boyang was classified as a "Taiwan independence die-hard" by the Chinese Communist Party and was monitored by credit reporting agencies for about one month in 2024. The Taipei District Prosecutor's Office found that four credit reporting professionals, Zheng Yongjin, Xie Yichen, Jiang Wenxin, and Hou Kaihan, were suspected of accepting 360,000 yuan from Hong Kong people Ju Juexian and Lin Qing to install micro cameras on the motorcycle opposite the gate of Shen Boyang's residence to monitor Shen Boyang, his wife and daughter 24 hours a day, and to transmit the images of entering and exiting the residence to hostile forces outside the country.

In this regard, the Mainland Affairs Council stated that judging from the several cases that have occurred so far, whether it is the situation encountered by relatives of the president in the United States, German reporters coming to Taiwan, or Shen Boyang, they are highly similar. That is, the Chinese Communist Party appoints agents, gangs, local collaborators, etc. to adopt an organized and planned model to carry out cross-border suppression.

The Mainland Affairs Council pointed out that the purpose of the CCP’s cross-border suppression, in addition to creating pressure on the parties involved and collective intimidation of society, also includes collecting personal information of important people’s family members. According to speculation, the purpose of collecting information may be used as a bargaining chip to pressure or threaten important domestic figures at an appropriate time in the future.

The Mainland Affairs Council mentioned that this case once again reminds us that the CCP’s transnational suppression methods are becoming more and more diverse. In addition to continuing to investigate individual cases, the legal system must also be strengthened. The government hopes to establish more complete legal regulations and countermeasures against transnational repression.

The Mainland Affairs Council once again calls on no one to accept instructions or funding from foreign forces for profit and become a local collaborator in transnational suppression. Taiwan is a democratic society governed by the rule of law. The government will definitely investigate and hold people accountable in accordance with the law to protect the safety and freedom of its people.