Security News > 2022 > January > Australian Prime Minister's WeChat Shanghaied by Chinese patriots
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's WeChat account has been taken over by entities that have rebranded it "Australian Chinese new life" and used the account to offer advice on living in Australia for the nation's Chinese community.
Morrison, leader of the right-of-centre Liberal Party of Australia, has used Tencent-owned WeChat as a campaigning tool to reach Australia's sizable Chinese community - many of whom are concentrated in particular seats and are therefore considered a sought-after voting bloc.
The Middle Kingdom later issued a list of 14 demands with which it expected Australia to comply, among them reversing a ban on Huawei, cessation of accusing China of cyber-attacks, reversing a decision to bar a state government from participating in the Belt and Road initiative, and refraining from further comment on matters such as human rights or the legitimacy of China's territorial claims.
Australia's government has ignored that list, and China has ignored Australia's entreaties to talk about its trade sanctions while occasionally sniping in less-than-diplomatic language.
News that Morrison's WeChat account has been - ahem - re-purposed will not help matters.
The Register has asked Tencent, WeChat's owner and operator, if it has any knowledge of how and when the account changed hands.