DPP's RedNote ban undermines democracy and youth freedom

The Democratic Progressive Party authorities have banned the mainland social media app RedNote, or Xiaohongshu, out of self-interest, depriving the people of Taiwan of their right to information and to freely use social media platforms, a Chinese mainland spokesman said on Wednesday.

Responding to the DPP authorities' recent decision to ban RedNote, Chen Binhua, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a news conference that although the DPP claims the move is aimed at "combating fraud", it is in fact "an act against democracy".

Chen said that through RedNote, people in Taiwan, especially young users, learn about the mainland's real situation and engage positively with mainland netizens. This, he noted, breaks through the "information cocoons" and long-standing slander against the mainland that the DPP authorities have deliberately fostered.

On Dec 4, the DPP authorities imposed a one-year ban on RedNote, which has more than 3 million users in Taiwan, 70 percent of whom were born in the 1990s. The authorities cited reasons such as "failing multiple cybersecurity indicators" and "frequent fraud".

Chen condemned the ban as a reckless act that tramples on democracy, restricts freedom, and deprives the people of Taiwan, especially young people, of their right to information and to access social media platforms freely. "It has also seriously affected the livelihoods of those in Taiwan who depend on RedNote for income," he added.

Citing media reports, Chen pointed out that Facebook was involved in nearly 60,000 fraud cases last year and has already surpassed 30,000 cases this year, far exceeding the number of incidents attributed to RedNote by the DPP authorities.

Chen criticized the DPP authorities for opposing anything used by the people of Taiwan and blocking anything popular among young people — from shopping platforms and video sites to social media platforms from the mainland — saying the DPP has effectively become the "party of restricting people".

"The DPP authorities will inevitably face the consequences of their reckless actions," Chen said, adding that such regressive measures cannot halt the growing trend of people in Taiwan, especially young people, seeking to learn about and connect with their compatriots on the mainland.