WeChat users unable to transfer money in amounts related to Tiananmen crackdown anniversary

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Chinese paramilitary police march at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China on June 3, 2015, a day ahead of the 26th anniversary of the June 4, 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests.. Photo: EPA

Published: 1:45pm, 4 Jun 2015Updated: 9:21pm, 4 Jun 2015

Users of China's most-popular real-time messaging service WeChat are allegedly being blocked from transferring money in amounts related to the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

According to multiple media sources, and confirmed by a South China Morning Post reporter, it is currently not possible to transfer sums of money containing the numbers "64" or "89" using the Chinese version of WeChat, also known as Weixin.

When sensitive amounts are used, WeChat's "red envelope" money transfer system, which allows users to publicly send each other gifts, returns a message saying "Irregular transaction. Try again later." Other amounts were transferred without issue. Private money transfers were not affected.

A Tencent spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

Organisations which monitor the Chinese internet for censorship report that, as in previous years, all references to the 26th anniversary of the crackdown are being deleted.

Digital news outlet Quartz reported that this has even led to seemingly innocuous messages being deleted, including one tweet about crude futures falling to US$64.88 a barrel, or news of a 64-year-old American woman returning money she found on the street.

Chinese internet users have long used virtual private networks (VPNs) and other tools that safeguard their anonymity, including the popular Tor program, to bypass internet restrictions.