Taipei: Taiwan has blocked a Chinese platform advertising educational and employment opportunities in China for young Taiwanese over alleged legal violations and personal data risks, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday. Speaking at a regular news briefing in Taipei, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh stated that the government took action against the China-run "Taiwan Youth e-Home" platform after coordinating with relevant agencies.According to Focus Taiwan, the MAC has stopped DNS resolution for the website, effectively blocking access. This decision follows MAC head Chiu Chui-cheng's earlier statement about seeking the platform's removal or blocking. Although the site was accessible from Taiwan until Wednesday evening, it became inaccessible by the same time on Thursday. Liang emphasized that the platform's requirement for users to provide personal information posed a significant risk, as Chinese authorities could potentially exploit this data for other purposes or to exert infl uence on young Taiwanese.Liang further explained that the platform's content violated several articles of the Cross-Strait Act, which governs recruitment for Chinese educational institutions, positions in Chinese political organizations, and advertising activities for Chinese goods and services. Specifically, Article 33 was relevant due to the platform's promotion of internships with the Communist Youth League of China, a youth organization under the Chinese Communist Party.Launched on July 15, "Taiwan Youth e-Home" aimed to support the "integrated development" of young people across the Taiwan Strait, according to China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO). The platform provided information on internships, employment, exchanges, and education, enabling Taiwanese users to apply for opportunities online.In response to MAC's warnings, TAO spokesperson Chen Binhua dismissed the allegations as "deliberate smears," questioning the necessity of personal information collection, which is common on job-search platforms . Chen mentioned that nearly 2,000 companies had joined the platform, offering around 6,000 vacancies, and assured that the platform adhered to legal standards in protecting personal data.Currently, there is no public data on the number of Taiwanese youths who have secured opportunities in China through this platform.