'Just use VPN': Taiwan bans China's Xiaohongshu over fraud concerns, China netizens amused

Taiwan has banned the Chinese app Xiaohongshu (XHS) for a year due to fraud concerns.

According to Reuters, the decision was made after the app failed all 15 indicators in Taiwan's cybersecurity assesment.

Taiwan has over three million XHS users. There have been over 1,700 fraud cases since 2024.

The ministry will issue an internet-blocking order and restrict access to the app for a provisional period of one year.

They reminded citizens not to download XHS, and for those who already downloaded it, "should stop using it and instead switch to other legal platforms that meet information security standards".

Reactions

Netizens in China, no stranger to banning apps, have reacted with amusement to the news.

According to ETToday,

The comments noted how similar this ban was to what China would do, and advising Taiwanese netizens to use VPN.

Other comments included "? Really learnt something from us (China)", "Damn, this is what the same family will do.", "Boasting about freedom all day and what happened?".

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