Comments on: Censorship Of “Southern Weekend” Has Spread To The Popular Texting App WeChat [UPDATE]

By: Ander

Ander — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 04:02:21 +0000

Oops!!

By: Ander

Ander — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 04:00:56 +0000

I’m guessing she used 南方周末
I used those characters and was also not blocked from sending them
Not to say the potential is not there – but this time wasn’t

By: Ander

Ander — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:58:19 +0000

If you enabled that function, yes.
But if you don’t want to chat up others, you don’t have to use it.

By: Ian G

Ian G — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 14:30:01 +0000

I was in Hong Kong recently and wrote a message to a friend, but ran it through google translator first. I think I misspelled Hong Kong because I was blocked with the “restricted words” message. I back translated to see what was wrong and the words “Fal*n G**g stared back from my translator in English.

By: RhZ

RhZ — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:46:45 +0000

Ah, I was a bit confused. But yeah, its on your phone and provides your location info cuz your phone has that. Or so I heard.

I wouldn’t touch any of this stuff with a ten foot pole, personally. I am not app-enabled, not yet at least. Maybe by 2020 or so.

By: Maweike

Maweike — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 07:13:27 +0000

Tried it, and the message was sent out normally with these Chinese characters

By: terroir

terroir — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 07:12:45 +0000

Absolutely different, comrade. I agree with you.

I’m asking as I suspect it is the same app that is now being targeted for censorship. That report I watched is something I had considered a scare tactic to get the citizenry to stop using that “social media fad”.

As its an app and not physically based (there’s a better word for it, I’m sure) in any one spot, results may vary depending upon where you’re standing.

Again, I’m asking as I don’t use it. But: here we are back at the censorship topic again.

By: RhZ

RhZ — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:59:20 +0000

That report was because it provides your location info, I guess like gps. Different issue from censorship.

By: RhZ

RhZ — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:58:52 +0000

Testing for censorship? What banned terms did you use? Often these terms are shifting in and out of the banned list, its definitely not consistent.

By: terroir

terroir — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:58:15 +0000

Weixin is like a local chat app, right? Say if you were on a subway, you could talk anonymously with other people on the train?

I saw a news report about it on the telly; it was full of doom and gloom and that ominous “low cello” rumble that signifies that you should be afraid. It warned people not to use it because you will meet anonymous people…. who will rape, rob, and kill you. Maybe not it that order.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:57:36 +0000

Just tested sending it (in Chinese) from my Weixin to another friend in China and it went through just fine, no warning message. It might depend on who is doing the sending? Still an interesting observation, but I don’t think it’s necessarily widespread.