Taipei police say a viral claim that a Chinese agent was monitoring public opinion inside the city's main metro station was a false alarm, easing a security scare but showing how jumpy Taiwan has become about Chinese infiltration.

• A social media post showed a man standing on the platform at Taipei Main Station with a laptop, sparking claims he was doing Chinese opinion-monitoring work.
• Police opened an overnight investigation, pulled security camera footage and identified him within hours.
• He turned out to be a man in his 40s waiting for a friend and listening to a live-streamed investing course while he killed time.
• The instructor's odd online handle, which uses military-sounding wording, appears to have fuelled the suspicion.
• The man said he did not know he was being filmed, and police found his account matched the evidence.

Outlook: The case is closed as a misunderstanding, but similar scares are likely as Taiwanese online users stay alert to suspected Chinese activity.