Highlights
- Scott Morrison wants to have his WeChat account restored
- He says he is ‘disappointed’ about having his account taken over by a private operator earlier last month
- The prime minister is keen to reconnect with Chinese-speaking voters on WeChat ahead of federal election
The Prime Minister has confirmed he is willing to reopen a WeChat despite his account being reportedly “hijacked” last month.
In an online briefing with Chinese media on Thursday afternoon, Scott Morrison said he is hoping to use the messaging app again to connect with Chinese-speaking voters ahead of this year’s federal election.
“We'd love to, but we don't control WeChat, effectively that ultimately goes all the way back to the Chinese government.”
Mr Morrison’s WeChat account, which he did not own, was sold last month to a private company.
The new operator, Fuzhou 985 Information Technology Co Ltd, renamed the prime minister’s account to ‘Australian Chinese New Life’ and had the description changed to ‘providing living in Australian information for the Chinese community’.
Liberal senator James Paterson, who chairs the federal parliament's intelligence and security committee, said the was “very likely” sanctioned by the Chinese government and amounted to "foreign interference".
But, when SBS Mandarin contacted the new operator of the account, he claimed he had acquired it legitimately and knew nothing about the background of its history.
Mr Morrison said he is willing to find an “opportunity” to restore his account on WeChat as it allowed him to reach out to Chinese Australians, which represent 5.6 per cent of the population or more than one-in-20 citizens according to the 2016 census.
Screenshot of opposition leader Anthony Albanese's Lunar New Year's post on his official WeChat account. Source: WeChat
The prime minister had used the Chinese messaging app in the 2019 election and said he wanted to have the same opportunity as other Australian politicians, including his rival, opposition leader Anthony Albanese who uses the service.
Though WeChat is a private company owned by tech giant Tencent, all accounts including Mr Morrison’s are heavily censored by Chinese authorities.
“I'm very disappointed that, that I have been censored … in wanting to speak to [Chinese] Australians here.”
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, who also has a WeChat account, indicated he won’t be active on it until the Prime Minister’s issues are resolved.
Following the takeover of Mr Morrison’s account, some Liberal party colleagues called for other Australian politicians to the platform, citing concerns about potential foreign interference.
The prime minister suggested any return to the platform would need to be based on “freedom of speech and the ability to speak to each other in an uncensored way”.
Tencent to the prime minister’s office in late January after they raised concerns his account had been blocked, and this was confirmed by a government spokesperson.
The WeChat controversy comes amid strained relations with Beijing and the arrival of China’s new ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian.
His predecessor Cheng Jingye left his post with a list of 14 grievances China has with Australia that are reportedly “poisoning bilateral relations”.
The new Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian (centre). Source: Chinese Embassy in Australia
But that said, that position of Australia and that of China, I don't think means that we still can't work together, particularly on humanitarian issues and many other issues and economic issues.
Mr Morrison said he has yet to speak to Mr Xiao since he took up his new posting.
“No, we haven't spoken yet, and look we’ve always wanted a positive relationship with China, where we can trade with each other, but that must come without any strings,” Mr Morrison said.
