Australia's Primary Joint Committee Chairman James Paterson believes that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's WeChat account was removed due to the ongoing tensions between Australia and China.
According to reports, Paterson was also the one that confirmed the news to reporters, saying that Morrison's WeChat account was hacked.
He added that the PM's account on the platform is now redirected to Australian Chinese New Life, which is being run by a technology firm based in Fujian Province.
James Paterson spreads theory about Scott Morrison's WeChat
During an interview, Paterson revealed that Morrison started having problems with his WeChat account in 2021. At the time, the Australian government appealed to the company to restore the prime minister's account. However, no action has been made until today.
However, a notice from WeChat on Jan. 5 claimed that Morrison's account had been transferred to Australian Chinese New Life amid user concerns.
"The account in question was originally registered by an [Chinese] individual and was subsequently transferred to its current operator, a technology services company - and will be handled in accordance with our platform rules," a spokesperson for Tencent told CNN Business.
Scott Morrison's WeChat registered under a Chinese man
An employee from Fuzhou 985 Technology also said that no one knew that the telephone was connected to Morrison. And the transfer of ownership was conducted with a Chinese man living in Fuzhou, according to Reuters.
Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry of Affairs, also denied Paterson's claims that Morrison's account was removed because of the ongoing Australia-China tensions.
Lijian called the accusations of China's interference as an unfounded denigration and smear. The spokesperson added that they never engage in and have no interest in foreign interference.
Experts react to Scott Morrison's WeChat being removed
Liberal Senator James Paterson, chair of parliament's joint committee, called the matter an example of censorship and foreign interference.
Fergus Ryan, a senior analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that having Morrison's WeChat account registered under the name of a Chinese citizen was ill-advised.
According to the Associated Press, Liberal party lawmaker and former diplomat Dave Sharma and Morrison both used WeChat to connect with Australia's Chinese diaspora. However, the social media platform is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
But Graeme Smith, a China expert at the Australian National University, said that it's still unclear who's behind Morrison's problems with WeChat. However, he also thinks that the Chinese government might have something to do with it.
Scott Morrison COVID-19 response
Elsewhere, Morrison has also been making headlines following his COVID-19 response.
Last year, the prime minister encouraged Australians to get vaccinated and boosted. He said that once the majority of locals have already received their jabs, he will lift the country's lockdown.
The lockdown was finally lifted in December, but Australia didn't expect to deal with the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron. So the majority of those that booked their summer holiday were forced to cancel their plans.
Morrison released a statement saying that Omicron forced the Australian government to think of new ways to manage the virus. He also said that there's a need to reset how Australians think about the pandemic, according to In Depth News.
