London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

WeChat keeps banning Chinese Americans for talking about Hong Kong

WeChat keeps banning Chinese Americans for talking about Hong Kong

The Chinese government is censoring WeChat users in the United States.
Pro-democracy candidates won a landslide victory in Hong Kong yesterday, but many Chinese Americans have been unable to express their approval online. WeChat, a popular social media messaging app, has been censoring political messages and disabling people’s accounts if they voice their support for the movement -even if they’re in the United States.

Bin Xie, an information security analyst at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, wrote “The pro-China candidates totally lost” in a WeChat group before having his account shut down.

Xie is now part of a WhatsApp group for Chinese Americans who’ve recently been censored on WeChat. He joined the group to talk about what is happening and discuss what can be done to make it stop. “If you have censorship in China -fine,” he told The Verge. “But in this country? I’m a Republican but on WeChat I suffer the same as Democrats [using WeChat]-we are all censored.”

WeChat is owned by China’s Tencent and widely used within the country. Research by Citizen Lab suggests the company has implemented a dual system, with heavy censorship for Chinese users and less restrictive rules for foreigners. But it is easy for Chinese American users to fall onto the censored side of the system, particularly if their account has been previously linked to a Chinese phone number. (Tencent did not respond to a request for comment.)

In recent months, China’s online censorship practices have had remarkable power over Western companies, as prominent figures in the US speak out about the treatment of protestors in Hong Kong. In just the past six months, the Communist Party in China has forced an NBA general manager to apologize for a pro-Hong Kong tweet, gotten Hearthstone player Ng “Blitzchung” Wai Chung suspended, and pressured Apple into taking down an app used by protestors.

“Part of the problem the [Communist] Party finds itself in is that the disinformation its spread to people in China is so wildly inaccurate that there’s very little middle ground,” says Sarah Cook, a senior research analyst at Freedom House. “Once the veil has lifted and people realize the protestors aren’t all violent terrorists, the whole thing crumbles. The Communist Party has painted itself into a corner when it comes to conversations about Hong Kong, even on the outside.”

In China, WeChat is used as a messaging app, a social media platform, a news outlet, and a payment platform. It’s owned by China’s largest tech company, Tencent, and claims to have 1 billion daily active users. “WeChat is like this super app in China,” explained Cook. “When someone’s personal WeChat account gets disabled, people find that it affects their daily life.”

Losing an account in this way is relatively common in China. The country’s draconian internet laws allow the government to access user data and censor content on social media platforms at will. Yet the app is so integrated into daily life that it’s almost impossible to stop using.

For Americans who have family or friends in China, the app has become a critical way to stay in touch since the country blocks Facebook and Twitter. Yet it’s also proved problematic as people try to talk about politics — a term that has a loose meaning for people in China. “The red lines are constantly shifting,” Cook says. “It’s political, religious, social, and economic content. Even information about public health. Things that used to be on the safe side of the red line are no longer safe.”

Another WeChat user who lives in Minnesota says he posts political content that appears to support the Chinese government, but he codes his messages in such a way that his readers know he’s been ironic. “Chinese people know what I’m writing,” he says. “It superficially looks like I’m supporting, but the tone shows I am not.”

And even though he is part of Xie’s WhatsApp group, he says he avoids talking about some politically sensitive topics to keep his family in China safe and ensure he’s still able to visit. “I can’t speak freely like I used to,” he says. “I still have to go back and visit my family, and I see the consequences of speaking out.”

George Shen, a WeChat user in Boston who works at IBM, started a White House petition asking Congress to stop Tencent from censoring people in the United States. “Tencent, with operations in the U.S., has been systematically engaging in censoring public opinions, suppressing dissidents, violating free speech rights of American citizens and hindering American democracy,” he wrote.

Congress didn’t respond to Shen’s petition, but he’s continued to lobby politicians like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) who’ve recently spoken out against China censoring content on the video-sharing app TikTok. His hope is that lawmakers will impose sanctions on Tencent if it does not agree to follow the First Amendment and allow Chinese Americans to discuss politics on the app.

The WeChat user in Minnesota says he’s surprised Congress still hasn’t acted. “I came to the US for freedom and democracy,” he adds. “But over the last few years, I feel that even though I’m an American, I’m monitored. I can’t speak freely like I used to, even though I live in the US.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×