The U.S. government will remove Chinese apps such as TikTok and WeChat that present great threats in the U.S. in order to protect the privacy of American businesses and people and to minimize national security risks. Many countries have also followed the footsteps. After banning iQiYi in Taiwan, an online video platform based in Beijing, the Taiwanese government further announced a fine imposed on “Taobao Taiwan” and demanded it to withdraw its investment or make corrections within six months. Experts believe that Tencent may be the next target to be banned.
Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, announced the Clean Network program to protect the privacy of U.S. citizens and enterprises by removing apps such as TikTok and WeChat. Many countries continue to assess their information security risks, and Taiwan is no exception.
Following the recent shutdown of iQiyi, the Taiwanese government announced on August 24 that “Taobao Taiwan” has investment coming from mainland China. In addition to the fine, the company has a deadline of six months to withdraw its investment or make corrections. In October last year, Taobao Taiwan, a platform belonging to the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group, was officially launched in Taiwan and operates under a brand license to the branch of a British company in Taiwan, Claddagh Venture Investment Limited.
On August 24, the Investment Board of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan indicated that although Alibaba Group does not have more than 30 percent of the shares of Claddagh Venture Investment Ltd., which complies with the current “Regulations for Permission for People from Mainland China to Invest in Taiwan”, Alibaba Group can still manipulate the operation of the British company. Therefore, the Investment Board concluded that Alibaba Group had control over Claddagh Venture Investment Ltd. This violates Section 73(1) of the Regulations on People’s Relations between the Taiwan Region and the Mainland Region.
