TikTok and Xiaohongshu Are China's New Tools in Taiwan

Chinese social media apps are already changing how young Taiwanese speak. Could they also influence them in how they think and feel about China?

- Yip Wai Yee

TAIPEI - How do you say "video clip" in Mandarin? In China, it's widely called shi pin. In Taiwan, the more traditionally used term is ying pian.

But ask a Gen Z Taiwanese, and chances are they use the term shi pin as well.

And that is not the only Mainland Chinese term younger Taiwanese are picking up. Slang like niu (awesome) and kaopu (reliable) are slipping into daily conversations.

These subtle shifts in language are widely attributed to the growing influence of Chinese social media platforms — namely TikTok, its Chinese counterpart Douyin, and Xiaohongshu.

And the trend is worrying Taiwan.

If these apps can shape the way young people speak, what else might they be influencing — perhaps, even more consequentially, how they think and feel about China?

Prominent Chinese academic Zhang Weiwei sparked fierce debate recently when he claimed that Beijing's sway over Taiwanese young people is growing, thanks to the popularity of Xiaohongshu and other Chinese apps on the island.

"After Taiwan is unified (with China), governing Taiwan would be easier than governing Hong Kong," added Dr Zhang, who heads the China Institute at Fudan University in Shanghai.

His remarks alarmed many across the strait.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chuicheng pointed out to lawmakers on May 29 that this was the first time a Chinese scholar had explicitly linked the popularity of Chinese social media apps in Taiwan with China's unification ambitions.

"Under such circumstances, the Taiwanese public need to be more vigilant," he said.

SOFTER PRESSURE TACTICS A master at grey zone tactics, China has steadily intensified its military, economic and diplomatic pressure against Taiwan in recent years, sending military planes and vessels near the island almost daily while seeking to isolate it on the international stage.