By Chen Meihua | 2025-06-13

In an apparent escalation of its soft power campaign toward Taiwan, China has begun tailoring its "United Front" efforts to target younger generations, with Taiwanese officials revealing that Beijing's new strategy aims to "start from childhood."

This strategic shift reportedly involves systematic ideological outreach to Taiwanese youth across all age groups, facilitated through platforms like Xiaohongshu (RedNote) and Douyin, China's version of TikTok.

"United Front" refers to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s coordinated political, economic and information operations to divide, co-opt and pressure Taiwanese society to achieve Beijing's goal of reunification.

Grabbing youth attention

The growing presence of RedNote in Taiwan is particularly noteworthy, with almost 3 million active users in Taiwan, according to a BBC report on May 30. This represents about almost 13% of Taiwan's residents, with the majority being teenagers.

Research released in January by Taiwan's Academia Sinica found that among users under 18, junior high school students had the highest usage rate at 57.87%.

Douyin subtly conveys narratives such as "reunification has little impact" or uses internal Taiwanese issues to depict "the failure of democracy," aiming to erode confidence in democracy, the study revealed.

Chiu Chui-cheng, minister of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, emphasized the need for vigilance.

China may use these platforms for United Front work, Chui said in May. He urged schools to strengthen education on media literacy and raise awareness about the risks of hidden political messaging and data privacy breaches.

'A political propaganda tool'

"I like Chinese celebrities on RedNote. It also has a feature to see posts from people nearby, and there are many types of influencer to choose from," 18-year-old high school graduate Li Xiaoling told Focus.

Li, who spoke under a pseudonym, recounted becoming enamored with Chinese talent shows and Chinese social media in 2021, particularly Douyin and RedNote.

Behind the entertainment lies an orchestrated political agenda, caution analysts.

RedNote is "a political propaganda tool disguised as entertainment," Sung Kuo-cheng, a researcher at National Chengchi University, told Focus.

He described its effect as subtly and persistently shaping user perceptions, a form of "chronic brainwashing."

Once users are immersed in narratives aligned with the CCP's ideological framework, such as the idealized image of a "Beautiful China," they begin to feel affinity toward China, said Sung.

"You no longer see it as an adversary," he said.

Chinese officials themselves have pointed out the use of social media as a propaganda tool.

Zhang Weiwei, director of the China Institute at Fudan University, lauded RedNote's popularity among Taiwanese youth in a mid-May speech at China's Wuhan University.

It has led to them becoming "increasingly influenced by the mainland," he said.

"The timing to solve the Taiwan issue is becoming riper and riper," said Zhang, adding provocatively with a laugh, "There will be no next election in Taiwan!"

"I believe, after reunification with Taiwan, governing Taiwan will be easier than governing Hong Kong," Zhang emphasized.

Propaganda narrative

Not all Taiwanese youth fail to recognize these risks.

Chen Shujuan, a 20-year-old university student, uses the international version of TikTok.

"If RedNote has long been embedding specific political ideologies and values, it could subtly influence users," reducing resistance to the idea of reunification with China, he said under a pseudonym.

Meanwhile, Gao Zhengping, a 28-year-old recent graduate, expressed uninterest in both RedNote and Douyin.

Taiwanese elementary and middle school users, "whose minds are not yet mature, may have their values influenced," unwittingly accepting United Front messaging, he said.

Even prominent figures are being drawn into the controversy.

The 24-year-old Lin Yun-ju, a hugely popular table tennis player from Taiwan, recently visited a primary school in Shandong province, China.

Lin was reportedly made to wear a red scarf, symbolic of Communism, and sing "I Love You China" with local children, who were similarly attired.

The footage of Lin quickly spread across Chinese social media, with Weibo views surpassing 10 million within days.

Sung described the incident as a case of "United Front intrusion." It was a form of "trap-setting" and "political hijacking" designed to "catch people off guard and pull them into China's propaganda narrative," he said.