The Presidential Office has condemned what it has described as a "typical
case of transnational repression" after reports that China has been illegally
surveilling President Lai Ching-te's son in the United States.

Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo says China's "barbaric" acts show
disregard for human rights and national sovereignty and seek to suppress,
threaten or even harm people who advocate freedom and democracy or their
families.

Kuo said such behavior should not be tolerated in the civilized world.

She also thanked U-S law enforcement authorities for assisting and protecting
Taiwan's people and said the Lai administration would continue to work with
the United States and other democratic allies to jointly combat illegal acts
of transnational repression.

The comments come after C-B-S News reported that the FBI had had arrested a
California-based real estate agent, at Los Angeles International Airport on
charges of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.

Law enforcement sources told C-B-S News that the target was Lai's son Lai
Ting-yu.

Lai's son lives in the U-S with his family and reportedly works for the Dutch
multinational Philips.