Cheng Li-wun, new chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party of island of Taiwan makes a speech when she formally assumes office on November 1, 2025. Photo: chinanews.com.cn

Taiwan regional authorities' move to restrict access to Instagram-like social media platform Xiaohongshu, known in English as RedNote, for one year, has triggered backlash on the island. Notably, Chinese Kuomintang Chairperson Cheng Li-wun wrote on Friday on social media that "by banning Xiaohongshu, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has ultimately become what it claims to hate the most."

On Thursday, Taiwan region's so-called "internal affairs department" said that it would restrict access to Xiaohongshu for one year, based on claims of cybersecurity risks and involvement in over 1,700 ‌fraud cases since 2024, according to multiple Taiwan local media outlets. 

Screenshot of Kuomintang Chairperson Cheng Li-wun's post

In a lengthy post on her Facebook account on Friday, Cheng noted that anyone familiar with the internet knows that whether you're looking for travel tips, outfit ideas, or beauty tutorials, many people's instinct is to open Xiaohongshu. Among the many social media platforms, Xiaohongshu is widely recognized as the least political and the most focused on everyday lifestyle content, she said.

"Now, the DPP is banning Xiaohongshu under the pretext of 'combating fraud', which not only fails to prevent fraud but also significantly restricts internet freedom," Cheng wrote in the post, noting that other social media platforms were not targeted. 

The DPP authorities claimed that Xiaohongshu failed to establish a legally required representative in Taiwan and therefore does not fall under the jurisdiction of Taiwan's legal system, making fraud cases difficult to investigate. But Cheng wrote that many of the social platforms people use today, especially dating apps, which are flooded with scam content, also have no legal representatives in Taiwan, and the number of reported fraud cases on those platforms far exceeds that of Xiaohongshu.

Cheng further pointed out that the DPP's ban on Xiaohongshu is nothing more than an "anti-fraud" excuse masking the first step toward erecting a digital wall. What truly unsettles the DPP is that Xiaohongshu users - across nationalities and political affiliation - freely and joyfully exchange views on beauty, fashion, lifestyle and everyday life, a level of organic cross-community interaction the DPP authorities would rather suppress. "From shutting down CTi News to now blocking Xiaohongshu, the DPP has ultimately become what it claims to hate the most."

Media in the Taiwan island also extensively covered the ban on Xiaohongshu and the growing backlash. In a report, UDN.com warned that "once this precedent is set, if the government moves to ban more mainland apps, the residents of Taiwan may be forced back into an era of cross-Straits isolation."

The report on UDN.com also cited physician and commentator Shen Cheng-nan, who argued that although the move is framed as an anti-fraud measure, it has in fact become part of a broader "resist the mainland" agenda. He cautioned that with Xiaohongshu now blocked, other mainland-developed apps could soon follow, further narrowing the already shrinking space for cross-Straits information exchange.

At a press conference titled "Banning Xiaohongshu: Fake Anti-Fraud, Real Isolation," KMT deputy secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang condemned the decision of banning Xiaohongshu as a "crude political stunt" that insults the intelligence of the Taiwan public, according to CTi news. 

Lin noted that Facebook logged more than 5,800 fraud reports in just one week, while Xiaohongshu does not even rank among the top three platforms linked to fraud. He questioned whether the authorities would dare to block Facebook as well, arguing that the move is not about combating fraud but about "bullying the kind and fearing the evil," selective enforcement and focus on ideological games.

Taiwan commentator Jaw Shaw-kong wrote on Facebook that the DPP's ban has nothing to do with fighting fraud but stems from fear. He said young people rely on Xiaohongshu for travel, beauty, and lifestyle content, and the DPP worries that broader exposure will reveal a mainland far different from its negative portrayal — potentially affecting next year's elections. He argued the authorities simply seized on a convenient excuse to block the platform.

Some netizens in Taiwan also criticized the DPP authorities for blocking Xiaohongshu. Many users in Taiwan are already asking online how to "climb over the firewall" to access Xiaohongshu, with others actively sharing technical workarounds, including changing IP addresses. Comments such as "Where am I supposed to find travel guides now?" "All my beauty tips come from Xiaohongshu," and "That platform has tons of detailed guides - what are we supposed to use instead?" have appeared across several social media platforms. Many users also expressed frustration and disbelief over the ban. 

Others questioned the DPP's rationale behind the move, noting that platforms like Facebook see far more fraud cases than Xiaohongshu. One user remarked that the DPP banned Xiaohongshu simply to make it easier for the authorities to push false information to the public.

Mainland officials have previously criticized the DPP's targeting of mainland apps. On July 16, responding to the 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 that the DPP's so-called "cybersecurity" excuse only exposes their own insecurity. 

They fear that residents on 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 said.