Banning "Xiaohongshu" - DPP Criticized for "Offending Young People"

Taiwan authorities announced on the 4th that due to cybersecurity concerns and involvement in a large number of fraud cases, they are initiating "internet DNS blocking and access restrictions" against the mainland social media platform "Xiaohongshu" for a period of one year. "Xiaohongshu" has accumulated about 3 million users in Taiwan, and the DPP government's ban has sparked controversy. Former legislator Guo Zhengliang directly pointed out that the green camp may lose young people's support as a result.

Taiwan's "Ministry of the Interior" Deputy Minister Ma Shiyuan held a press conference at the Criminal Investigation Bureau on the 4th, stating that after information security testing, "Xiaohongshu" failed all 15 indicators, and it has been involved in 1,706 fraud cases, causing financial losses of up to 240 million New Taiwan Dollars. Therefore, an order has been issued to "Xiaohongshu" for internet DNS blocking and access restrictions, initially set for one year.

According to Taiwanese media reports, "Xiaohongshu" users in Taiwan are mostly concentrated among junior and senior high school students and university students, and the ban has triggered strong backlash. Some students believe that online fraud does not only occur on "Xiaohongshu" and question whether the DPP government's disabling purpose is purely motivated; other students think that if mainland social media platforms are not trusted, regulatory measures should be implemented instead of prohibiting use.

Guo Zhengliang said that although "Xiaohongshu" is a mainland social media platform, its nature leans toward lifestyle sharing, with content mainly focused on beauty, fashion, travel, and food. "Young people exchange information through the internet from a young age, and 'Xiaohongshu' is their lifestyle encyclopedia." This move may provoke dissatisfaction among young groups and further impact the DPP's youth support.

New Party Taipei City Councilor Hou Hanting listed statistics showing that "Taiwanese people are scammed out of 400 million yuan every day, with 70% occurring on 'Facebook'," meaning that "Facebook" is involved in fraud losses of 280 million per day, far exceeding the total for two years of "Xiaohongshu."

Hou Hanting believes that what the DPP fears is not fraud, but young people seeing the real life and development on the mainland through "Xiaohongshu," which would break down the information firewall constructed by the green camp. To "protect democracy," the DPP is forcing Taiwanese people to possibly climb over the wall just to view "Xiaohongshu"—truly a democratic joke.

Media personality Fan Qiming questioned that while cracking down on fraud is no problem, the DPP government could in the future use the pretext of "fraud concerns" to similarly impose bans on specific platforms, covering up their incompetence in combating fraud, and inevitably raising suspicions of "digital martial law." (Source: Hong Kong News Network)