CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has lost control of his account on China-owned social media platform WeChat and a lawmaker on Monday accused Chinese leaders of political interference.
Morrison’s 76,000 WeChat subscribers were told his page had been renamed “Australian Chinese new life” earlier this month and his picture had been removed, Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported. The changes were made without the knowledge of the government, according to the report.
Morrison’s office declined to comment on the report.
In response to a question from The Associated Press, WeChat parent company Tencent said there was “no evidence of hacking or third-party intrusion” related to Morrison’s account.
“Based on our information, this appears to be a dispute over account ownership,” the company said.
In accordance with Chinese regulations, Morrison’s public account was registered with a Chinese citizen and later transferred to its current carrier, the company said. He identified the current owner of the account only as a “technology services company”, adding that he would “continue to investigate this matter further”.
Chairman of the House of Commons Joint Intelligence and Security Committee, James Paterson, said WeChat did not immediately respond to a request from the Australian government to reinstate the Prime Minister’s account.
Paterson accused the Chinese Communist Party of censoring the prime minister as Australia’s election was due to be held in May.
Paterson, who is a member of Morrison’s conservative Liberal Party, called on all lawmakers to boycott the platform.
“What the Chinese government has done by closing an Australian account is foreign interference in Australian democracy in an election year,” Paterson said.
Paterson said it was concerning that 1.2million Chinese Australians who use the platform could not access news from the Prime Minister but could still see criticism of the government made by Opposition Leader Anthony Albanian.
Fergus Ryan, a Chinese social media expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, tweeted that Morrison was one of at least a dozen Australian politicians who use WeChat accounts now registered for Chinese citizens.
Liberal Party lawmaker and former diplomat Dave Sharma said the interference was likely sanctioned by the Chinese government.
Sharma said Morrison uses WeChat to connect with Australia’s Chinese diaspora, but ultimately the social media platform is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
“It is more likely than not that he was sanctioned by the state and it shows the attitude towards freedom of speech and free speech that comes out of Beijing,” Sharma said.
Graeme Smith, a China expert at the Australian National University, said it was unclear who was behind Morrison’s WeChat issues.
“I don’t think we know who is behind all of this. I dare say we can safely say that it was at least inspired by the Chinese government,” Smith said.
Smith added that he did not believe Morrison’s WeChat issue was proof that China would support the centre-left Albanese Labor Party in the upcoming election.
“They really don’t care who wins the election,” Smith said. “They don’t care who wins until people trust democracy.”
Albanese said he would speak to Morrison about “any national security implications” of the Prime Minister’s WeChat issue.
Morrison has had a fractious relationship with China since replacing Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister in 2018.
The Chinese have criticized a new partnership involving Australia, Britain and the United States announced in September under which Australia will receive nuclear-powered submarines.
