TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Leading members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will consider allowing use of the Chinese-owned Douyin app and its international version, TikTok, to increase the government’s appeal to young voters, reports said Wednesday (Jan. 17).

During the campaign for the Jan. 13 elections, the DPP frequently accused China of interference and of spreading disinformation, with the use of social media and apps including TikTok featuring prominently.

The ruling party’s Central Standing Committee (CSC) met Wednesday to discuss why despite winning the presidential election, it performed less well in the legislative election. The DPP lost its absolute majority and ended up with 51 out of 113 seats, one less than the Kuomintang (KMT).

The discussions focused on the alleged lower-than-expected support from young and first-time voters, per Radio Taiwan International (RTI). Banning Douyin and TikTok was useless, so the party needed to face the issue head-on, CSC member Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) reportedly told the meeting.

As many young Taiwanese are already using the Chinese apps, the DPP needed to improve its communication with them by using the apps, she said. Instead of trying to cut young voters off from Douyin and TikTok, the DPP should put across its message to the younger generation via apps and social media.

Other CSC members maintained that national security concerns should come first. Taiwan could look for inspiration on how to combat disinformation to the United States and Europe, said Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇).

Outgoing DPP Secretary General Hsu Li-ming (許立明) said the DPP was not posting on the Chinese apps, but needed to intensify and change its methods of communicating with youths via other social media, including YouTube and Instagram.

The generation from the 2014 Sunflower protests was approaching 30 or even 40, so the party now had to adjust its approach to appeal to the younger post-Sunflower generation, Hsu said.