Taiwanese prosecutors confirmed that Hong Kong money paid to spy on a Taipei mayoral candidate — bad news for Beijing-linked influence operations, and a rare cross-party moment of agreement in Taiwan.

• Prosecutors charged four private investigators who were paid by two Hong Kong residents to watch DPP candidate Shen Po-yang and his family around the clock.
• KMT Taipei councillor Yang Chih-tou, who had earlier mocked Shen for imagining it, publicly apologised and said foreign-backed surveillance should be condemned by both parties.
• The DPP called it another case of China reaching across borders to pressure specific politicians with help from local collaborators.
• Taipei's mayoral race, 52 days from the vote, stays nasty — drugs policy, the death penalty, and online pile-ons are all live attack lines.
• Separately, the head of the Overseas Community Affairs Council resigned over a privilege-abuse row, which the KMT called damage control before the election.

Outlook: Expect the surveillance case to keep fuelling Taiwan's "foreign interference" debate through the November local elections.