The Australian PM’s WeChat account was hacked and hacked | Modern

State media describes account closures as “external disruptions” in Australian democracy.

The well-known Chinese operation on WeChat appears to have blocked access to the account of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, prompting one senator to call for the ban.

Senator James Paterson, chairman of the Joint Intelligence and Security Parliamentary Joint Committee, said on Monday the Prime Minister’s team had struggled to get a WeChat account for several months. It was removed from the hands of the government in early January even though it represented the Morrison office, he told 4BC radio.

“My view is that WeChat is a very well-run China Communist Party company, which is similar to the international disruption in our democracy and in the election year,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s Office had nothing to say on Monday. Attempts to secure Scott Morrison’s WeChat account Monday morning in China were unsuccessful.

With over a billion users worldwide, WeChat is one of the most popular messaging in the world. The Chinese government regularly monitors developments, including WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd.

A Tencent spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Many Australian politicians, including Labor leader Anthony Albanese, have WeChat accounts sent to Mandarin in an attempt to reach more Chinese people. At the 2016 census, about 5.6% of people said they had Chinese parents – more than one in 20 citizens.

Paterson called on all Australian politicians to stop using WeChat until the Prime Minister’s account is restored.

“No one should accept their criticism and criticism in our public discussions,” he said.

In a statement on 4BC, Albanese said he had spoken with Morrison about WeChat events, adding that it could be “about national security.”

Former Attorney General Dave Sharma, who is now a lawmaker in the Morrison coalition, told Sky News that the idea of ​​barring him from entering the Prime Minister’s account “was unresolved by the government.”

“It reflects the views on free speech and freedom of speech that emanate from Beijing,” he said.