Taiwanese prosecutors have charged four private investigators with illegally tracking DPP lawmaker Puma Shen and his wife and daughter around the clock, in a case the ruling party calls Chinese cross-border repression.

• Four investigators were hired by two Hong Kong-based men to watch Shen and his family 24 hours a day in 2024.
• Taipei prosecutors indicted all four for breaking privacy law, seeking a year and a half for the lead investigator.
• The two Hong Kong men who paid for the surveillance are now wanted fugitives.
• Shen, who is running for Taipei mayor, has long been a target of Beijing over his work exposing Chinese influence operations.
• The DPP says this is not the first case of Beijing using local helpers to go after specific Taiwanese politicians.

Outlook: Expect louder calls for Taiwan to tighten protection of politicians and crack down on local networks working for Beijing, especially heading into the mayoral race.