The government is considering regulating the use of Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu (小紅書), or Rednote, as the platform could be used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to engage in “united front” campaigns, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, which was scheduled to review proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例).
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) asked Chiu to comment on statements recently made by Fudan University China Institute director Zhang Weiwei (張維為), who said that Taiwan could be governed easier than Hong Kong if unification is achieved, as young people in Taiwan like Xiaohongshu.
Photo: Reuters
It was the first time a Chinese expert has made a connection between the use of the popular app and unification, Chiu said, adding that the council has suspected the CCP was using the platform to carry out its “united front” campaign.
“If that was the case, people need to be on high alert when they use Xiaohongshu or Douyin (抖音), as the platforms could be used to prepare Taiwanese for unification,” he said.
The council has been urging agencies regulating online affairs to investigate Xiaohongshu, he said, adding that it has identified content on the platform advocating unification by force and destroying the nation’s sovereignty.
“We have been discussing this issue with agencies,” he said. “We think that a crucial moment has come where stipulating laws to regulate the use of Chinese platforms becomes very necessary.”
Chiu called for schools to increase education on media literacy.
Students need to know the problems of using Chinese apps, such as having their personal data exposed to the CCP and receiving propaganda promoting unification, he said.
MAC Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chie (梁文傑) told a news conference that national security officials faced challenges deterring the spread of “united front” propaganda on some online platforms.
“We can only ask national security and cybersecurity agencies to seek the sources of the content and analyze their patterns,” Liang said.
“Due to the lack of a specific law regulating Web site management, officials can be made aware of content and investigate, but they cannot deal with online accounts that produce problematic content,” he said.
“It is like closing all the windows as a typhoon approaches when the house has no roof,” he added.
In other matters, Chiu told the committee that the council has proposed amendments to the cross-strait act based on the 17 national security strategies that President William Lai (賴清德) announced in March in view of China’s increased efforts to infiltrate Taiwan.
The amendments are being reviewed by the Executive Yuan and should be delivered to the Legislative Yuan in one week, he added.
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