Taiwan's Xiaohongshu ban triggers strong backlash among users

Experts say uproar demonstrates how govt failed to communicate its policy clearly

- Yip Wai Yee

Taiwanese manicurist Hsiao Hsiu-yu is worried about the day she gets cut off from Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu.

The 31-year-old, who scrolls through the Instagram-like platform daily for nail design inspirations, said it is already happening to some of her peers.

"None of my friends is using the app to look at politically sensitive information - it's absurd that the government wants to stop us from using it," she told The Straits Times.

Taiwan's rare move on Dec 4 to block the popular app has triggered a severe backlash among users, in a democracy that prides itself on protections for freedom of expression.

Across various social media platforms and online forums, disgruntled Taiwanese users are exchanging tips for workarounds, such as how to use virtual private network services or whether one should update their mobile operating systems.

Recent checks in Taipei showed that the app could still be opened by many users, although some say their app's pages are either loading very slowly or not in their entirety.

While local internet service providers have been ordered to block access to the app, the app cannot be shut down at once as Xiaohongshu owns many internet protocol addresses.

Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior on Dec 4 announced an immediate one-year ban on Xiaohongshu, also known in English as Rednote, calling it a potential "high-risk area for online shopping fraud".

The authorities linked the platform to 1,706 fraud cases that caused financial losses of more than NT$247.7 million (S$10.2 million) since 2024, and said that the company, which lacks a local office as required by Taiwan law, was refusing to cooperate in addressing the government's concerns.

"From our perspective, it is a malicious platform - one that is beyond legal oversight and operates with unclear intentions," said Deputy Interior Minister Ma Shih-yuan at a recent press conference.