Taiwan's government has blocked access to a Chinese-run job platform for young people, citing concerns over personal data leaks and political exploitation. Authorities concluded that China was using employment information as bait to draw in Taiwanese youth and gradually expand its influence over the island.
According to local media including Taiwan's Liberty Times, the Taiwanese government blocked access to the "Taiwan Youth e-Home" platform, which China officially launched July 15.
The platform was established by China Taiwan Net, which is managed by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
An anonymous Taiwanese government official said that when job seekers register their information on the platform, their personal data is forwarded to the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, raising the risk that Chinese authorities could misuse the information or that it could be leaked.
Taiwanese authorities view the platform not as a simple job-search site but as part of China's strategy to pursue unification with Taiwan.
"In the past, China lured Taiwanese youth through intermediaries — now it is building its own internet platforms directly," the official said. "It is trying to draw young people to China using job listings as bait."
The official added that Taiwanese youth should abandon any expectation that China would offer them good jobs.
In practice, some job postings on the platform listed monthly salaries of 2,000 to 4,000 yuan ($592) — far below Taiwan's statutory minimum wage of NT$29,500, or about 1.3 million won, this year.
The site is currently blocked in Taiwan across major browsers, including Chrome, Edge and Firefox.
China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office had previously promoted the platform by saying about 2,000 companies had joined and approximately 6,000 jobs had been listed.
sjy@heraldcorp.com
