China uses AI surveillance to monitor Tibetan refugees in Nepal
Chinese surveillance companies deployed AI facial recognition and tracking systems across Nepal to monitor Tibetan refugees and activists, reportedly enabling Nepali police to make preemptive arrests in September 2025. The technology has reportedly created a pervasive surveillance environment that restricted freedoms and rights of approximately 20,000 Tibetan refugees who previously viewed Nepal as a sanctuary.
What happened
Thousands of high-definition cameras equipped with AI-powered facial recognition, automatic tracking, and pattern-of-life analysis software were deployed across Kathmandu and along the Nepal-China border, primarily manufactured by Chinese firms Hikvision, Dahua, and Uniview.
In September 2025, during regional political unrest, the technology enabled Nepali police, frequently acting on intelligence shared by the Chinese Embassy, to conduct preemptive arrests of individuals identified by algorithms as 'persons of concern' before they could attend protests.
Reported impact
For approximately 20,000 Tibetan refugees in Nepal, the pervasive monitoring has created a 'digital panopticon' that stifled the Free Tibet movement, with refugees reporting living in a state of constant fear, leading to suffocation of their cultural and religious expressions, forced displacement, and loss of legal rights.
Nepal has transitioned from a sanctuary to a zone of heightened risk for Tibetan refugees, with the lack of Refugee Identification Cards making them legally invisible.
Index analysis
The surveillance infrastructure resulted from a combination of geopolitical influence and technology export strategies, with China offering affordable and comprehensive security systems to Nepal accompanied by training and law-enforcement support, and leaked documents suggesting close operational cooperation between Chinese security officials and Nepalese police.
The AI-driven features of the systems markedly improved the ability to monitor, classify, and intervene in social activity, intensifying control over populations deemed politically sensitive.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.