At the December 17 press conference of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, a reporter asked: The DPP authorities have imposed a one-year provisional “ban” on Xiaohongshu under the pretext of responding to an “emergency fraud-prevention situation,” which has been criticized as an “illegal expansion of powers” and has triggered strong backlash on the island. Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior and Mainland Affairs Council claim that the action is a “lawful, general emergency measure” and unrelated to cross-Strait policy or relations. What is your comment?
Spokesperson Zhu Fenglian of the Taiwan Affairs Office responded that the DPP authorities’ explanation is extremely weak and unconvincing. According to media reports on the island, Facebook was involved in nearly 60,000 fraud-related cases last year in Taiwan, and the number has already exceeded 30,000 this year—far more than the so-called “cases” the DPP claims Xiaohongshu is involved in. The DPP authorities’ deliberate targeting of Xiaohongshu for such a crude ban is entirely a politically manipulative act marked by double standards. Their so-called “anti-fraud” justification is nothing more than a pretext; the real intention is to pursue “Taiwan independence,” deliberately stoke “anti-China, protect Taiwan” sentiment, block channels of cross-Strait exchange, and deprive the people of Taiwan—especially young people—of their right to access information and their freedom to use social media platforms. These malicious actions have already provoked strong dissatisfaction and opposition from the people of Taiwan, particularly its youth.