Taiwan sent a Chinese man back to China after officials concluded his asylum story was invented, a case that raises questions about how easily online media can be used to launder a suspect's image.

• Zhang Lei, a former Chinese police officer with a robbery conviction, entered Taiwan illegally by speedboat at Matsu and was caught last year.
• His phone held photos of Taiwanese military bases, a radar station, fuel tanks, an airport, and government buildings — enough to make security agencies suspect he came with a mission, though the images were public so no charges followed.
• He never mentioned the White Paper protests during questioning or detention, and only claimed persecution after being released and appearing in an online documentary.
• Officials called his account one-sided and unverifiable, noted no rights group has spoken up for him, and said Beijing was happy to take him back.
• Taiwan's rules cap detention of Chinese illegal entrants at 150 days, forcing releases into welfare-run housing; a legal change is being pushed to extend that when China refuses returns.

Outlook: Taiwan looks set to tighten detention rules for Chinese nationals caught entering illegally, while the fight over who gets believed online continues.