Visconti

Up until now, it really wasn't a huge concern for me.

A few things I had always assumed to be true: 1) all hotel rooms bugged; 2) phone conversations monitored; 3) assume everyone you contact may be a part of the CCP; and, 4) this is just me, never engage with anyone you don't know personally or have an introduction to one from a person whom you know personally.

Now, I'll just use a throw away phone, which is a pain, but better than risk giving up my phone for an hour.

889

And yet folks have no problem installing WeChat on their phones, which just sits there occupying almost 1Gb of space.

MW147

WeChat is the best way to communicate with my suppliers in China. I am discussing business, there is nothing in these conversations that the Chinese government will care about.

downinit

Apparently, it only takes one like on Twitter to get banned permanently. Of course, this is for a high profile performer, but still a bit unsettling.

889

The question of course is what if anything WeChat does with its 1Gb of space on your phone outside the scope of its employment.

And while I'm as respectful as anyone of the journalistic standards at the Daily Mail, there's nothing substantiating this. Nothing.

garykung

FWIW - I try not to install anything Chinese related things.

It is not political motivated. Instead, personally I believe that the coding of Chinese softwares/apps are usually written poorly. Not only needing large space, but also it eventually slows everything down.

I am the only person who does not use WeChat in my social circle.

Visconti

I was briefed long ago to avoid all forms of social media, especially on mobile devices. Only app I have is Twitter, and that will be gone the moment we have a new American Admin.

moondog

My current approach to Wx is mostly:
-business chats and group chats
-use in place of phone calls and emails for basic social stuff
-wallet and payment
-following official accounts and mini programs
-never write anything that I wouldn't be cool sharing with the entire world
-remove myself from groups that venture into taboo waters

After watching the Great Hack I've adopted the same strategy for all social channels, and have dropped off those that I don't need. The thing about Wx in China though is that it is much more efficient for non-confidential business communications than email, particularly when dealing with millennials or younger.

Visconti

MD - Small chance I may have to spend more time in China, and will likely adopt some of your approach. Not sure if it's practical to spend significant time there without using at least WeChat and/or Alipay.

moondog

Cool. If you fancy a gentle introduction, you're welcome to join our FT Wechat group. It's actually pretty useful now because you can ask for advice on pretty much anything, and someone usually responds within a few minutes. I do mute notifications for it (and other large groups) though.

bocastephen

I think it depends on what type of support you give - I will posit the following:

1. the chinese government already has access to social media photos - facebook, instagram, twitter, etc - they have most likely already cataloged billions of photos of their own citizens as well as foreigner's social media photos
2. when you submit your passport for a visa, they will likely use their AI to find a match for your social profiles based on matching your passport photo to the social media photos in their system
3. at this point, based on your social media activities, you should expect A) your visa will be approved, B) your visa will be denied based on your anti-China activities, or C) your visa will be approved, and you will be detained upon entry and charged with a crime

For Hong Kong, you most likely do not need a visa, so it is highly unlikely they will deny you entry for your online activities unless someone recognizes you, or based on your answers to any questions, they feel you will be a disruptive influence.

synthkeys

To millenials, email is like faxing to us older folks. I'm constantly nagging my younger son to read his university emails. I occasionally check up on him and when I see tons of important emails unread, I freak out casually remind him to read his emails.