A Taiwanese court has handed down a prison term for helping Beijing meddle in Taiwan's elections, a warning shot for China's influence networks on the island.

• Chou Man-chih, head of a group for new immigrants, got 18 months for campaigning for a legislative candidate on orders from China's united front department.
• She came to Taiwan from China in 2001 and had belonged to groups controlled by Beijing before setting up her own associations in Kaohsiung.
• The judge came down harder because she interfered in a national election and denied wrongdoing afterward.
• A separate case in the same ruling saw a man jailed for faking a Nvidia company seal and congratulatory messages from Jensen Huang and former president Tsai Ing-wen to look well connected.
• She was cleared on other charges, including backing Foxconn founder Terry Gou, because he never formally registered as a candidate.

Outlook: The verdict can be appealed, and more prosecutions under Taiwan's anti-infiltration law are likely as the island tightens its guard against Chinese political meddling.