Taiwan-China Relations

Taiwan Confirms German Scholar Was Followed by Suspected Chinese Spy

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By TaiwanPlus

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Taiwan's Investigation Bureau has confirmed that a woman followed German scholar Jürgen Kremb, a visiting researcher studying China's intelligence services, during a trip to Alishan in May last year. Kremb, who previously described the encounter to TaiwanPlus, said he believed the woman was a spy. Investigators say the case illustrates China's use of transnational repression against dissidents and critics abroad, though they declined to release further details as the investigation is ongoing.

Alleged Spying in Taiwan

REPORTER:  
Investigators have confirmed that a woman was following a German scholar in Taiwan.

Jürgen Kremb is a visiting researcher who looks at intelligence services. He was vacationing in Alishan in May last year when he says he was approached by a woman he believed to be a spy. Kremb has previously described the encounter in an interview with TaiwanPlus. Taiwan’s Investigation Bureau has now confirmed Kremb’s account. They say it shows how transnational repression is occurring but could not release further details, as their investigation is ongoing.

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Chinese Transnational Repression

REPORTER:  
The Investigation Bureau confirmed it is probing a case of transnational repression targeting a foreign national in Taiwan.

German scholar Jürgen Kremb said he was approached and followed by a woman in May 2025 while vacationing in Alishan. Kremb, a visiting scholar at Soochow University researching intelligence services, recounted the incident in a late-June interview with TaiwanPlus. The bureau declined to share further findings but said anyone opposing totalitarianism and advocating democracy, freedom and human rights is a target, and pledged closer cooperation with democratic allies to counter repression.