President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) participated in a youth forum hosted by the Chinese-language Business Today in Taipei on Saturday, May 30. He took advice from high schoolers and spoke on the special attention needed for social media platforms such as TikTok and RedNote (小紅書).

At the event, Lai interacted with high school students from across the country, listening to their concerns and engaging in dialogue on a variety of topics. The president revisited his stance on strengthening national security and economic resilience, and his goal to shift Taiwan away from economic dependence on China. He also underscored Taiwan’s determination to avoid conflict, and stand with other democratic countries.

On the subject of China’s united front tactics, Lai and students discussed the multi-layered threats aimed at undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty and national identity, especially in the soft power posed by social media.

When discussing the importance of applying critical thinking while using these apps, students from Kang Chiao International School suggested modeling Taiwan’s history classes after the United States’ advanced placement courses. They argued that these classes, which emphasize comparison and analyzing the cause-and-effect of historical events on present-day realities, would likely equip Taiwanese students with stronger critical-thinking skills to counter Chinese social media’s "redacted history.”

The president strongly agreed, saying that equipping Taiwan’s students with these skills would provide a shield for national identity and cultivate independent thinking. He noted that social media apps such as RedNote may present a skewed narrative – presenting China as a “good guy” actor to future generations, if not handled carefully.

Lai said, “We must not allow TikTok or RedNote to constantly indoctrinate people with false ideas 24/7, 365 days a year. As president, I have always considered this a very serious issue. If it is not handled properly, over time, Taiwan may lose the will to defend democracy and come to view China as a benevolent force; even if it wants to annex or invade us, we may perceive it as a friend that poses no threat to Taiwan. We could lose the will to protect our own country.”