TAIPEI, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s opposition leader on Friday condemned the government’s plan to suspend access to Chinese social media platform Rednote for a year, calling it censorship, while Taiwan’s presidential office backed the plan.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Interior cited security risks and accused the Instagram-like app, known as Xiaohongshu in Chinese, of being involved in more than 1,700 cases of fraud since the plan was announced the day before.
The company, which has about 3 million users in Taiwan, has not yet responded to a request for comment.
“Many people online are already asking ‘how to access Little Red Book over the wall,'” Cheng Li-yuan, chairwoman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, wrote on her Facebook page.
Mr Cheng, whose party advocates closer ties with Beijing, adopted China’s argument for the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent the country’s widespread online censorship, saying banning the app was a major restriction on internet freedom.
This “will only make us lament that the online freedom and freedom of expression that Taiwan has long cherished have been restricted and stifled by the DPP in the name of national security,” Zheng added, referring to Taiwan’s ruling party.
Rednote saw a surge in U.S. users in January as expectations grew that something like China-owned TikTok could be banned, a risk that subsequent divestment plans averted.
Taiwan issues warning against Chinese apps
While China bans popular Western social media platforms such as Facebook, X, YouTube and Google, democratically governed Taiwan generally has no such restrictions and prides itself on its openness.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly warned people of the dangers of using Chinese apps, mainly because of the risk of disinformation from Beijing.
The Home Office said it had received no response from Rednote when the government contacted it to ask about specific measures to ensure data security.
Taiwan Presidential Office spokesman Kuo Wengui said Taiwan’s Ministry of Interior has provided a timely explanation on the fraud and security risks.
“We respect the ministry’s decision and express our support,” she told reporters.
Taiwan also complains that China has targeted Taiwanese for using Western social media, which it bans at home, to spread disinformation and undermine public trust.
In October, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office launched a Facebook page using traditional Chinese characters used in Taiwan but not in mainland China.
It was quickly spammed by Taiwanese internet users who posted Taiwanese flags and mocked China’s official censorship.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only its people can determine their future.
Neither government officially recognizes the other.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
