Xiaohongshu Photo: IC

Taiwan region’s so-called “internal affairs department” said on Thursday it would restrict access to Instagram-like Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, known in English as RedNote, for one year, under the excuse of cybersecurity risks and its alleged involvement in over 1,700 ‌fraud cases since 2024, multiple Taiwan local media outlets reported on Thursday. The announcement has triggered backlash from some netizens of the island, who questioned why the island authorities allow fraud on Facebook unchecked.

So-called “internal affairs department” of Taiwan region claimed that Xiaohongshu’s user base in Taiwan island has surged by over one million within a year, raising “concerns” over online fraud and data security. 

When reached by the Global Times on Thursday, the company declined to ‌respond to a request for comment. 

The island authorities claimed that it will impose domain blocking and access restrictions against the Xiaohongshu app for a provisional period of one year starting immediately, according to Taiwan's UDN News. 

However, in response to the Taiwan authorities’ announcement of the one-year ban on Xiaohongshu, many internet users on the Taiwan island sharply criticized the decision under Taiwan’s media outlets’ reports, calling it “pathetic” and “stupid.” Some users commented, “If the DPP were blocked instead, that would be much better!” and others said that “A Taiwan without the DPP would be a better Taiwan.” Many netizens left comments under the related news report, such as “What about Facebook?” “Shouldn’t same actions be taken against Line and Facebook by the way?” 

Meanwhile, soon after the announcement, many netizens from Taiwan island flocked into Xiaohongshu to express their reluctance to be blocked. 
A China’s Taiwan-based user named Cosmo said that compared to the commonly used social platforms in Taiwan, she finds it is more easily for her to find the topics she prefers to discuss on Xiaohongshu, after all, due to its large number of users.

Xiaohongshu users from the mainland express their sympathy for Taiwan compatriots, raising the question of whether the Taiwan authorities are blocking the app for being afraid of the users from across the Straits to practice “cyber check accounts,” which refer to users verifying, discussing, and scrutinizing various viewpoints and facts. 

Responding to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities’ claim that five Chinese mainland apps, including Xiaohongshu, Weibo, Douyin, WeChat, and Baidu Cloud, pose “extremely high cybersecurity risks,” Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, stated on July 16 that the DPP’s so-called “cybersecurity” excuse only exposes their own insecurity. They fear that people in Taiwan island will learn the truth about the mainland through various channels, fear that the “information cocoons” they worked so hard to create will be broken, and fear that cross-Straits communication will bring people closer and lead to deeper understanding. 

Chen added that the DPP authorities are acting in panic and abusing their power, and that such actions will inevitably face public backlash.