RedNote downloads surge on Taiwan island after local authorities' ban

The Socialist Bulletin Staff - 9/12/2025

CHINESE social media website Xiaohongshu, better known in the West as RedNote, has become the most popular app on Taiwan island, after local secessionist authorities banned the app due to "security and fraud concerns".

The website, primarily used on the mainland in China, is a popular app for youth in China. It has been a positive source for communication between the people of the West and the people of China. As one of the largest youth-led social media platforms catering to speakers of Chinese languages, it achieved mass popularity even in areas controlled by secessionists on the island of Taiwan.

Critics of the new ban on the island have claimed that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities on Taiwan have utilised fraud protections in a political manner, using them to ban anything that goes against their policy agenda and opposition to reunification with the mainland.

Despite the website being banned under fraud concerns, even the region's own data does not indicate that RedNote is a "major scam-related app", causing mass confusion among RedNote users in the province.

Following the ban, however, the app has surged in popularity in Taiwan Province, as workers and youth on the island have sought to fight back against the island authorities' censorship agenda.