WeChat blocks Australia PM’s message over China official’s war crimes tweet
- Scott Morrison criticised the digitally manipulated ‘false image’ posted on social media by a Chinese official, but the platform later blocked his post
- This comes as #SolidaritywithAustralia and #FreedomWine trended on Twitter in support of the country’s tariff-hit wine industry
China’s embassy said the “rage and roar” from Australian politicians and media over the image was an overreaction.
Morrison took to WeChat on Tuesday to criticise the “false image”, while offering praise to Australia’s Chinese community.
But that message appeared to be blocked by Wednesday evening, with a note appearing from the “Weixin Official Accounts Platform Operation Center” saying the content was unable to be viewed because it violated regulations, including distorting historical events and confusing the public.
Tencent, the parent company of WeChat, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Australian special forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan, with senior commandos reportedly forcing junior soldiers to kill defenceless captives to “blood” them for combat, a four-year investigation found.
Australia was seeking to “deflect public attention from the horrible atrocities by certain Australian soldiers”, it said.
Other nations, including the United States, New Zealand and France – and the self-ruled island of Taiwan which China claims as its own – have expressed concern at the Chinese foreign ministry’s use of the manipulated image on an official Twitter account.
“The CCP’s latest attack on Australia is another example of its unchecked use of disinformation and coercive diplomacy. Its hypocrisy is obvious to all,” the US State Department said on Wednesday, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
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WeChat told an Australian government inquiry in October it had 690,000 active daily users in Australia. Morrison’s message had been read by 50,000 WeChat users by Wednesday morning.
Zhao’s tweet, pinned to the top of his Twitter account, had been “liked” by 54,000 followers, after Twitter labelled it as sensitive content but declined the Australian government’s request to remove the image.
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“We stand in solidarity with #Australia by serving #FreedomWine,” Taiwan’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a tweet.
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In Washington, the National Security Council said: “Australian wine will be featured at a White House holiday reception this week”.
It added: “Pity vino lovers in China who, due to Beijing’s coercive tariffs on Aussie vintners, will miss out. #AussieAussieAussieOiOiOi!”
Australian winemakers said the latest tariffs would likely mean the lucrative Chinese market would dry up.
Treasury Wine Estates – which produces the popular high-end Penfolds brand – said it would look to other “key luxury growth markets” and cut costs as sales accounting for 30 per cent of earnings fall away.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse