(TibetanReview.net, Apr17’25) – China is greatly strengthening the digital offensive capability of its police force in Tibet, with a state-owned digital forensics firm providing an offensive cyber operations training environment and digital forensic laboratory to the Tibet Police College in Lhasa, according to a new report released Apr 16 by Turquoise Roof and Tibet Watch.
The state-owned firm, Meiya Pico technologies, also enables Chinese authorities to monitor and suppress Tibetan dissent worldwide, from Lhasa to London, creating a ‘repression pipeline’ that extends Beijing’s reach globally, the report said.
The firm was placed on the US Entity List in 2019 for involvement in human rights abuses in East Turkestan (Xinjiang) and its operation has become a cornerstone of China’s digital surveillance complex.
The report noted that the new pattern of digital transnational repression includes cooperation with China’s security services in countries where the company is based, including in Vietnam, as evidence mounts of an alarming case of transnational repression involving the death of respected Tibetan religious leader Tulku Hungkar Dorje in Ho Chi Minh City on Mar 29.
The 56-year-old abbot of Lung-ngon Monastery in Ga-de County of Golok prefecture, Qinghai Province, died under suspicious circumstances, with his followers alleging he was detained by Vietnamese authorities acting in coordination with Chinese security operatives after fleeing Tibet following interrogation by Chinese officials. The participation of Vietnam’s security services in this escalation of China’s transnational repression tactics in Southeast Asia signals China’s growing leverage through economic and security dependencies, highlighted by Xi Jinping’s visit this week to Hanoi, the report said.
The report pointed out that the urgency of this threat is underscored by newly documented cases of Tibetans being arrested for their internet and phone use, as reported by Human Rights Watch on Apr 13, 2025, revealing how PRC authorities leverage digital forensics to criminalise ordinary online activities.
Also, an Apr 9, 2025, NCSC (UK National Cyber Security Centre) technical advisory was stated to have highlighted sophisticated spyware campaigns targeting Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other communities, demonstrating the global scale of China’s digital repression.
The report pointed out that following its US blacklisting in 2019, Meiya Pico sought to develop new business in digital forensics and surveillance cooperation projects across countries signed up to Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road strategy. As part of this initiative, the company opened an office in Vietnam in 2018.
The Company claims to enjoy a 45% share of China’s digital forensics market and has developed technologies like the MFSocket app, which police use to covertly extract data from citizens’ phones during spot checks, the report said.
Spot check of mobile phones is said to have become ubiquitous in many parts of Tibet, especially during sensitive occasions, events, and incidents.
Turquoise Roof and Tibet Watch have called for robust international action to address these threats, including enhanced cybersecurity protections for targeted communities, psychosocial support for affected individuals, and coordinated diplomatic measures to counter China’s digital transnational repression tactics. They demanded impartial digital forensics investigations, ensuring accountability and preventing the misuse of cyber capabilities for human rights violations.