Science & Tech · AI · 1 hr ago
Leaked documents detail China’s AI platform for monitoring diaspora
Leaked documents describe a Chinese government AI platform that scans online information about ethnic Chinese people living abroad.
The system, called the Overseas Chinese Affairs Big Data Platform, is based at Jinan University in Guangzhou and processes data from social media and Chinese services.
It uses machine learning and language analysis to identify influential people, including executives and researchers in the semiconductor industry.
A leaked report names people in Taiwan’s chip sector and suggests using alumni, professional and hometown groups to build relationships with them.
The United Front Work Department, a Chinese government body, uses such efforts to shape views of China and build influence abroad.
The platform could help China target people across borders, raising concerns about surveillance and foreign influence in other countries.
The documents describe the system’s capabilities, but do not say what action will follow.
Leaked documents describe a Chinese government platform that uses artificial intelligence to monitor ethnic Chinese people abroad and identify people for influence efforts.
The Overseas Chinese Affairs Big Data Platform processes information scraped from social media and other public sources.
A report generated by the system names figures in Taiwan’s semiconductor sector and offers ways to build relationships with them.
The platform is based at a big data laboratory at Jinan University in Guangzhou.
- Who
- The Chinese government and its United Front Work Department. The platform targets ethnic Chinese people abroad, including figures in the semiconductor industry.
- What
- A leaked report describes an AI-powered platform that scrapes and analyzes online information to support monitoring and influence efforts.
- When
- The report was shared with Dark Reading and Sky News UK ahead of publication. Dark Reading published its article on November 12, 2026.
- Where
- The platform’s laboratory is at Jinan University in Guangzhou. The people it monitors are abroad, including in Taiwan.
- Why
- The system is used to identify influential people and develop ways to shape narratives and build relationships.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Documents describing the platform were leaked to China watchdog NetAskari.
NetAskari shared its report with Dark Reading and Sky News UK.
Dark Reading published its report on the platform.
- Platform name
- Overseas Chinese Affairs Big Data Platform, also called Smart Eye
- Laboratory
- 500 square meters at Jinan University in Guangzhou
- Staffing
- The laboratory can house at least 100 employees
- Data sources
- Facebook, Instagram, X, WeChat, and other public sources
- Report title
- Profiles of Ethnic-Chinese Leading Talent in the Chip Field, Their Circle Characteristics, and Work Recommendations
2 sources
What people are saying
A foreign nation with rather undemocratic tendencies is running an extensive, AI-charged analysis and information-scraping operation to find ways to influence other nations' internal social, economic, and political landscapes
That this system is particularly aiming at the Chinese diaspora, to see if [foreign citizens] can be used to further these ambitions, even if they might not be aware of it, is rather shocking.
leverage non-official organizations — hometown associations, alumni associations, professional societies — for relationship-building and cooperation.