Recently, the Taiwanese government issued a one-year restriction on the popular Chinese app “Xiaohongshu” among young people, citing a rise in “fraudulent cases” on the platform and the lack of response to Taiwan’s information security improvement suggestions.
Experts stated that “Xiaohongshu” is unwilling to have a legal representative in Taiwan, allowing it to bypass Taiwan’s judicial and financial jurisdiction to evade legal responsibilities. It’s also evident that the Chinese Communist Party has assigned “Xiaohongshu” the political mission of brainwashing Taiwan’s youth.
Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of the Interior Ma Shiyuan stated on the 4th that the Chinese social platform “Xiaohongshu” did not pass the cyber security test and has been involved in 1706 fraud cases involving over NT$240 million in the past two years. Despite sending letters, the company did not respond. Therefore, based on Article 42 of the Fraud Prevention Act, an “emergency event for preventing fraud” was declared, issuing an order to stop resolving or restrict access to the internet, tentatively for one year.
Established in Shanghai in 2013, Xiaohongshu is dubbed as the “Chinese version of Instagram” with a predominance of female users.
Currently, Taiwan has 3 million Xiaohongshu users, offering soft information services on beauty, fashion, travel, and celebrity-related content. However, since December 4th, users trying to access Xiaohongshu’s app have encountered loading issues and inability to connect.
Regarding the decision to block the Chinese social app “Xiaohongshu” for a year, Taipei Mayor Jiang Wan-an criticized it as “using restrictions on freedom of speech to combat restrictions on freedom of speech” and accused the Democratic Progressive Party of turning into the Communist Party.
In response, Taiwan’s Minister of the Interior, Hsu Shi-fang, stated on the 7th, “Taiwan does not have the Communist Party.” She questioned whether this statement is against the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s efforts to combat crimes?
In response to external voices suggesting that the temporary blocking of Xiaohongshu by the Ministry of the Interior is limiting freedom of speech, Deputy Minister of the Interior Ma Shiyuan clarified on the 8th that this was a metaphor, and stopping the resolution or restricting access to Xiaohongshu is not a complete ban. It is like setting up roadblocks to make it more difficult for users to access, aiming to “deploy in advance” and prevent fraud.
The Ministry of the Interior also clarified that whether it’s Facebook, Google, LINE, or even TikTok, international platforms have complied with Taiwanese laws by appointing legal representatives and fulfilling legal obligations. On October 14th of this year, the Taiwanese government, through the Straits Exchange Foundation, sent a letter requesting the parent company of Xiaohongshu, China Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., to propose effective solutions to fraud cases, but has not received any response to date.
In response to this, Lin Zili, an associate professor of political science at Donghai University, told Epoch Times that this time Xiaohongshu is involved in fraud, which is a legal fact. Taiwan demanded a response from the Shanghai parent company for improvement requests. Unlike other social media platforms that have legal representatives in Taiwan, Xiaohongshu does not. Therefore, in the absence of a legal representative, it crossed over Taiwan’s judicial and financial jurisdiction, thus avoiding any legal responsibilities, albeit the amount involved is not significant.
Lin Zili believed that the Taiwanese government’s handling of this matter was prompt, essentially anticipating and addressing potential issues before they could escalate, which he found commendable.
Regarding criticisms from the Kuomintang chairperson, Zheng Liwen, who called the ban on Xiaohongshu a dictatorial attitude, Lin Zili stated that Taiwan’s democratic politics do not have any dictatorship issues. Internationally, organizations such as Reporters Without Borders or Freedom House consistently rank Taiwan as one of the top countries in terms of press freedom and democracy. Therefore, he believed it had nothing to do with freedom of speech.
In 2022, Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Development classified Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and TikTok (international version) as “products that harm national information security,” prohibiting their use on government-related devices, while private devices are not affected.
In July of this year, the Ministry of the Interior ordered its personnel to completely uninstall WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Baidu Cloud, citing that these Chinese applications collect location data, screenshots, videos, etc., posing national security threats.
Deputy Minister Ma Shiyuan, who also heads the anti-fraud command center, pointed out that Xiaohongshu scored “failed” in all 15 privacy and security tests, including collecting personal information, exceeding usage permissions, and capturing biometric data. Xiaohongshu even eavesdrops and may transmit user interactions with other social media platforms back to China. This implies that personal images, voices, phone numbers, email addresses, financial data, and other personal information of individuals are under the platform’s control.
Ma Shiyuan also mentioned that other Chinese applications such as Douyin, Weibo, WeChat, and Baidu Cloud, similarly have widespread risks of collecting sensitive information and transmitting data.
Regarding this, Professor Chen Shimin of the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University told Epoch Times that the issue with Xiaohongshu is straightforward, not related to freedom of speech or exaggerated to connect with cross-strait issues to resist China. It is because when the Taiwanese government presented 15 improvement requirements, and the company failed to respond or act on them, the government naturally proceeded with legal actions.
Chen Shimin emphasized that Xiaohongshu transferring user information to China raises security concerns, which is the most worrying aspect for the Taiwan government.
Deputy Minister Yen Ning of the Ministry of Digital Development recently stated in a press conference titled “Warning the Public to Be Cautious About High-Risk Apps” that if an app operates in China, the Chinese government can legally require the company to provide user data to national security, public security, and intelligence departments. Hence, Taiwanese users’ personal information might be collected and utilized by specific Chinese entities, posing high risks to privacy and security.
According to Taiwan’s Communication Research Database, 85% of high school students in Taiwan use Instagram, 82% use Facebook, while Xiaohongshu stands at 29%.
Ma Shiyuan said, “Cuteness doesn’t mean harmlessness; some beautiful things are toxic.” He also stressed that if Xiaohongshu fails to improve after one year, the status of stopping resolution or restricting access will continue. This is the most stringent measure currently available to the Taiwanese government.
After the ban was implemented, some expressed support on social media platforms, stating: “Don’t use suspicious things, especially those from enemy countries”, and “a more subtle form of united front strategy.”
However, many Xiaohongshu users in Taiwan opposed the ban, arguing that they use the platform for non-political content such as beauty, travel, lifestyle, or feminism. They fear they may need to resort to using VPNs in the future, and opposition parties question the government using fraud prevention as an excuse to build a “Great Firewall.”
In May of this year, Chinese Fudan University professor Zhang Weiwei, dubbed as “Xi Jinping’s mentor,” proclaimed during a speech at Wuhan University that the timing to “solve the Taiwan issue” is becoming more mature, all thanks to platforms like Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social platform among many young Taiwanese. These platforms showcase China’s way of life and values to Taiwanese youth, enhancing their sense of identity with China. He believed that governing Taiwan post-unification would be “easier than managing Hong Kong.”
Huang Qinglong, Chairman of the Taiwan Institute for National Development and Cross-Strait Studies, told Epoch Times that the Taiwanese government should make it clear that Xiaohongshu is a tool of the Chinese Communist Party’s united front strategy. Some may say not to label it, but it must be done, as fundamentally, as with the claims made by Zhang Weiwei, the purpose is to brainwash young people!
Huang Qinglong stated that Zhang Weiwei is not an ordinary Chinese scholar; his words are representative. He advocates for constructing a Chinese discourse and narrative system and deconstructing Western academic discourse, which is why he is renowned. Therefore, his interpretation of Xiaohongshu’s influence on Taiwanese youth can be viewed as the political mission bestowed upon Xiaohongshu by the Chinese authorities.
Similarly, in Australia, a social media ban went into effect this Wednesday (10th), the first of its kind globally. The ban requires major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to block accounts of those under 16, affecting over a million accounts. Tech giants violating the ban may face fines of up to approximately USD 33 million, while parents and children will not be penalized.
In recent years, Europe and the USA have also seen unlawful cases and controversies related to social media platforms.
In January of this year, TikTok was banned in the USA as various judicial entities and congress deemed the platform a threat to national security. In September, Trump signed an executive order allowing TikTok to continue operating in the US if it complied with US regulations, albeit under new ownership.
Furthermore, a two-year EU investigation found that Elon Musk’s platform X violated several obligations, including providing users with a “deceptive” blue checkmark certification and not adequately disclosing information about platform advertisements. On December 5th, the EU’s technology regulatory agency imposed a EUR 120 million fine on X, the first penalty issued under the Digital Services Act.
Cheng Qinmo, Associate Professor of Diplomacy at Tamkang University in Taiwan, told Epoch Times that social media fraud crimes are not just harmful to Taiwanese society but to the entire world’s free and democratic countries.
Cheng Qinmo stated that the biggest danger of Xiaohongshu and TikTok lies in cognitive warfare. Misleading reports or promoting various cognitive aspects can have significant harmful effects on young people or younger generations, potentially penetrating Taiwan, an issue that Taiwanese society should take seriously.
“Although the EU levied a huge fine on X platform, causing significant debates between the US and Europe, regardless of their arguments, regulating global social media platforms is an urgent issue,” Cheng Qinmo said.