China criticized the Taiwanese authorities, saying they were abusing their power and that they would face civil opposition.
According to the Free Times and the Yonhap News Agency, the Taiwanese government announced an order to restrict access at a press conference held at its criminal police department the day before, saying the Xiaohongsu platform was involved in fraudulent crimes and information security issues.
The measure will be implemented over the next year, not permanently blocking, and will discuss follow-up measures after reviewing compliance with Taiwanese laws and digital security measures for Taiwanese.
My government emphasized that this measure is not aimed at a specific country, but rather to block fraud or fake news.
Since last year, there have been 1,706 fraud cases related to Xiaohongsu in Taiwan, and the amount of damage has exceeded $47 million.
Ma’s deputy government secretary for political affairs criticized Xiaohongsu for transmitting user personal information and data to certain places in China, calling him a “malicious platform.”
The government predicted that about 3 million users will be affected by the ban.
As a result, access to Xiaohongsu has become impossible in Taiwan unless a virtual private network (VPN) is used.
When the Xiaohongsu ban was reported, the main users, teenagers and industry officials, questioned the authorities’ announcement.
They argued that Internet fraud crimes are widespread on social media, not just Xiaohongsu, and that the background of restricting the use of Xiaohongsu is not simple and has a purpose.
He also argued that media literacy education should be strengthened rather than prohibition of use in order to prevent fraudulent crimes.
China argued that it was a measure to block communication between Taiwan and the mainland.
China’s state-run Global Times summoned Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, in July, who claimed that “cyber security reveals their anxiety.”
“They are afraid of Taiwanese knowing the truth about the mainland through various channels, and they are afraid of people getting closer through cross-strait communication,” Chen said at the time when Taiwanese authorities announced that Chinese apps, including Xiao Hongsu, pose cybersecurity risks.
He also said, “The authorities of the Democratic Progressive Party are abusing their power. These actions will inevitably face public opposition.”
Hu Xijin, an official commentator who served as the general editor of the state-run Global Times, also said on his social media account, “The reason Taiwanese authorities banned Xiaohongsu is because the number of people using the app has increased,” adding, “What they really fear is seeing our true self as direct exchanges between Taiwanese people and mainland Chinese users increase.”
Earlier in July, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Security announced that an investigation into system information collection, personal information collection, use rights, data transmission and sharing, and biometric information collection on China’s SNS platforms, including Xiaohongsu, revealed that Xiaohongsu violated 15 items.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
