Canada bans Chinese chat app 'WeChat'... China claims "oppression of companies from specific countries"

Canada "Potential Risks of Mobile Devices"

On the 30th (local time), Canada banned the use of the Chinese messenger app WeChat (微信) on government-owned devices. In response, China protested, calling it 'oppression of companies from specific countries.' This is interpreted as a second round following the controversy over China-originated fake news that caused a stir in Canadian politics.

According to the British BBC, Anita Anand, Chair of the Canadian Finance Committee, issued a statement on the day announcing the adoption of a risk-based approach to block access to applications with potential risks on government mobile devices, thereby issuing the WeChat ban. Consequently, Canadian WeChat users must immediately delete the app, and future downloads of WeChat will also be prohibited.

WeChat is a chat app launched in 2011 by the Chinese company Tencent, widely used by overseas Chinese and Southeast Asians, and it also offers mobile payment and social media services.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump also attempted to ban WeChat through an executive order in 2020, but it was blocked by the courts and never implemented.

WeChat

The Chinese government criticized Canada for oppressing Chinese companies without evidence. Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 31st, "WeChat is a social platform operated by a private company, and the Chinese government requires Chinese companies to strictly comply with local laws and regulations when conducting overseas business," adding, "The Canadian government issued a ban targeting Chinese companies under the banner of 'data security protection' without any genuine evidence."

Spokesperson Wang stated, "This is a typical case of generalizing the concept of national security and an abuse of state power to unreasonably oppress companies from specific countries. China firmly opposes this," and criticized, "We hope Canada will abandon ideological prejudice, adhere to market economy principles, and provide a fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies."

China and Canada had previously clashed over a fake news controversy. On the 23rd, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an investigation result stating that the Chinese government conducted political interference operations by spreading fake information online targeting dozens of members of the Canadian House of Commons, including the Prime Minister and opposition leaders. In response, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 24th accused, "Canada itself is the creator and spreader of fake news."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.