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Chinese free speech advocate takes aim at Tencent over WeChat account shutdown
- Law professor He Weifang accuses the company of trampling on civil rights by suspending yet another of his accounts
- In handwritten letter, He urges others to join him in protest against the tech giant
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A prominent academic has hit out at Chinese tech giant Tencent, accusing it of “trampling on civil rights” after his sixth WeChat account was deleted last week.
Peking University law professor He Weifang, a long-standing advocate for legal reform and speech rights in China, made the protest in a handwritten letter dated February 3 and circulated online.
He said his sixth account, registered last month under the screen name “Old Crane”, was deleted in January by the operators of WeChat, also known as the “everything app” in China.
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“WeChat has become an essential part of daily lives [in China]. Deleting the account wasn’t just a hindrance to online communication with friends but made transport, shopping and public health code screenings impossible,” He wrote.
In the letter, He called on others to join him in protest against the social media network operator.
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“I am issuing a severe condemnation against the barbaric act of Tencent and calling on more victims to speak out against the injustice and put a stop to such law-infringing acts,” the professor wrote.
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