![]() These groups are separate from public figures’ official accounts, which are public and can be viewed by anyone. These messages were mostly shared in private groups, which hold up to 500 people and usually focus on specific policy issues or geographical areas. Liu claimed partial credit for a running a WeChat campaign in the 2016 election that focused on state Labor’s controversial Safe Schools program, which taught young students about LGBTQ issues in an attempt to lower bullying rates. “We know of the surveillance issues … but I think Australian politicians having official accounts and exposure on WeChat enables them to directly communicate across the diaspora, instead of forcing them to consume policy announcements from second-hand translated news stories which can be sensationalised and potentially include misinformation.” She said Liu’s move off WeChat was unwise. Yang said the main themes included Australia-China relations, immigration, permanent residency, property prices and interest rates and Chinese-Australian candidates. Melbourne-based WeChat researcher and PhD candidate Fan Yang has analysed 2500 articles posted on WeChat to gauge the topics being discussed relating to the federal election. I have heard everyone’s voice: build a prosperous Australia for a better future.” Credit: WeChatĪfter a street-walk with Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong, Garland posted: “ had the honour to meet many workers who have contributed to Australia’s multicultural development. In the 2020 incident, a note appeared from WeChat saying the content violated regulations, including distorting historical events and confusing the public.A post by Carina Garland on WeChat. In December 2020 the Scott Morrison WeChat account was temporarily blocked amid a political dispute between Canberra and Beijing over an image of an Australian soldier in Afghanistan. "Any account set up in this way can be shut down at a moment's notice," he said. ![]() "Yet they can still gain access to critiques of the government, attacks on the government by the (Labor) Opposition Leader," he added.įergus Ryan, senior analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said having the Prime Minister's WeChat account registered under the name of a Chinese citizen was "always risky and ill-advised", and appeared to be a breach of WeChat rules. "There's 1.2 million Australians of Chinese descent who overwhelmingly use this service and now can no longer access news and information from their Prime Minister," he said on Australian radio on Monday. Liberal Senator James Paterson, Chair of Parliament's Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, told media the incident was an example of "censorship" and "foreign interference". Reuters wasn't immediately able to reach the company to request comment. The account registration is now linked to a technology company, Fuzhou 985, in Fujian province, Reuters found. The Scott Morrison account was registered in 2019 using the name of a Chinese citizen in mainland China as its account operator, WeChat records show and a government source confirmed.įeaturing Morrison's photograph, it originally promoted major announcements on the economy or the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, translated into Chinese.īut in January, the account was rebranded 'Australia China New Life', and said it would provide information such about life in Australia, Reuters confirmed by viewing the account. Tencent didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.īoth the Liberals and the main opposition Labor Party set up official WeChat accounts for their leaders through outsourced agencies. 10, said a person with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. The prime minister's office has made multiple fruitless requests to WeChat to regain access to the account, most recently on Jan. With a national election due by May, the government would have aimed to use the Morrison account to promote its policies during the Chinese New Year celebrations starting Feb. ![]() ![]() SYDNEY - Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal Party lost access to his official WeChat social media account months ago, politicians said on Monday, issuing claims of censorship, while the still-active account being run by a new Chinese controller now promotes Chinese life in Australia.Īmid growing diplomatic tensions with China, Australia's two major political parties have used the social media platform, owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, to communicate with Australian voters of Chinese ethnicity in tightly fought electorates since 2019. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |