Accused China spy in Nvidia CEO affair visited Taiwan eight times, no tip-off, says Taipei

Taiwan says Alice Huang (right), who Jensen Huang (left) admitted to having an extramarital affair with and is alleged to be spying on Nvidia for China, entered its country as an ordinary business visitor eight times under a Hong Kong passport. — AFP pic

First Published: Thursday, 12 Nov 2026 2:08 PM MYT

TAIPEI, Nov 12 — The woman accused of spying for Beijing during an affair with Nvidia founder Jensen Huang visited Taiwan a total of eight times in 2024 and 2025, a Taiwanese government minister said Thursday.

Taiwan, a dominant player in the global semiconductor industry, sits at the centre of strategic competition between the United States and China, which claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory.

Jensen Huang, chief executive of the US-based chip giant Nvidia, has admitted to having an extramarital affair, reportedly with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed who US officials believe was working for Chinese intelligence.

Beijing has rejected the spying allegations.

Alice Huang, who is also known as Huang Le, used a Hong Kong passport to enter Taiwan “under a standard business visitor status” and there were “no special flags” about her at the time, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng told lawmakers.

Chiu made the remarks in Taiwan’s parliament in response to lawmakers’ questions about Alice Huang’s entries into Taiwan and a New York Times report that the United States had advised Taiwan as early as 2024 to monitor her movements.

“At least we at the Mainland Affairs Council did not receive any relevant information,” Chiu said.

“If we had, we definitely would have stepped up our entry screening and border flow management.”

Chiu said records show that Alice Huang visited Taiwan three times in 2024 and five times in 2025.

The records do not show any entries for this year, he said.

“If we had any of the kind of critical intelligence you mentioned, leading us to believe she posed a threat to Taiwanese society, we would have definitely flagged her for heightened review,” Chiu said.

“For any case where there are doubts, we intensify the level of scrutiny, and if we determine there are security concerns, there is no way we would allow her to enter the country.”

The government has said Taiwan’s security agencies are investigating the incident.

Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee said Thursday “there is currently no public information” about whether Alice Huang “is suspected of any criminal offence or on the related investigative procedures”.

“If a criminal offence is involved, due to the principle of prosecutorial confidentiality during an ongoing investigation, we cannot provide any further comment,” Lee said.

Alice Huang was seen at a dinner in May 2025 hosted by Jensen Huang at a Chinese restaurant in Taipei during Computex, the island’s top tech expo.

Journalists stood outside the restaurant filming through glass windows and doors as Jensen Huang and a woman identified as Alice Huang, who was wearing a pink dress, mingled with other attendees.

At one point, Jensen Huang can be seen putting his arm around Alice Huang as she kisses him on the right cheek, press livestreams show. — AFP