Taiwan Shifting from Openness to Closure
United Daily News Commentary, December 05, 2025
As Taiwan moves from openness toward restriction, the people must climb over layers of high walls—far more than just the users of Xiaohongshu (RedNote).
Deputy Minister of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan held a press conference at the Criminal Investigation Bureau yesterday, stating that Chinese social and e-commerce platform “RedNote” contains many scam-related accounts. From last year to the present, Taiwan has seen 1,706 fraud cases linked to it, with financial losses exceeding NT$247.68 million (about US$7.9 million). In addition, the National Security Bureau determined that RedNote failed its cybersecurity inspection, and therefore announced a one-year order to stop DNS resolution and restrict access to RedNote, effectively blocking the platform for a year. An estimated 3 million people will be affected.
The administration of President Lai Ching-te blocked RedNote for a year using fraud prevention as the stated reason. It is a convenient justification and sounds reasonable, but anyone with clear eyes can see that the real purpose is certainly not anti-fraud. Simple numbers alone can easily puncture the government’s superficial explanation: Facebook is practically the headquarters of scam groups.
According to statistics from the “Online Scam Reporting Query Platform,” nearly 11,000 suspicious scam-related messages were reported over the past seven days. Facebook had the highest number with nearly 5,800 reports, followed by Threads at around 2,400, Instagram at 1,200, and Meta’s Messenger and Meta Ads Network each with more than 800. Line had 199, TikTok had 71, Google had 45, and RedNote did not even appear on the government’s scam reporting platform.
From the administrative penalties issued when police demanded the removal of fake investment ads, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) accounted for 72,500 cases, or 97.4 percent. Meta was fined NT$16 million (about US$511,000) in April and May, but in the end, Meta simply paid the fine—without facing any ban.
The Internet knows no borders. Netizens around the world observe others’ lives and cultures through online platforms. Even though RedNote mainly features lifestyle content such as fashion, travel, and beauty, the Lai administration is clearly worried that young people might learn about mainland China’s progress through the platform. In such circumstances, whether a high-speed rail seat reclines is not something people will simply believe based on what a single ruling-party legislator claims. Even without visiting the Chinese mainland, people can roughly understand everyday life there through RedNote. Notably, the platform’s user base is aged 18 to 34, with those aged 25 to 30 making up half, and users under 25 accounting for 35 percent. From the perspective of “winning the youth is winning the future,” this poses a major disadvantage to the administration’s attempt to reinforce “natural independence” through ideological conditioning. If they do not seize this moment to target RedNote, then when?
But the more you ban something, the more people want to see it—just like banned books during the martial law era, which instead became sparks of democratic awakening for many. Blocking RedNote not only highlights the growing distance between the ruling party and young people, but also reveals the insecurity in the administration’s heart. If we have confidence in our democracy and development, then why fear the people seeing the truth? Will exposure to more mainland Chinese popular culture and everyday life truly shake people’s faith in Taiwan’s democracy? If that is really the case, then does it mean the administration does not trust its own people—or does not trust the democracy it constantly proclaims?