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WORLD NEWS Thursday 25 april 2019

Australia political leaders use Chinese app to chase votes

By ROD McGUIRK in Shandong province, Aus- that seeks to undermine
Associated Press tralian Broadcasting Corp our free and fair society.”
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) reported. Fergus Hanson, head of the
— Australia’s prime minister Morrison said his conserva- International Cyber Policy
and his political rival said tive Liberal Party was trying Center at the Australian
on Wednesday they were to transfer his account to Strategic Policy Institute,
not tailoring their political Australia. said politicians’ use of Chi-
messages to suit Chinese “The way you set up a We- nese social media in the
censors as the politicians in- Chat account, because of Australian political debate
creasingly use Chinese so- where it’s run, is you have created the possibility of
cial media to woo Chinese- to work through these over- censorship and self-cen-
speaking voters. seas structures and we’ve sorship on subjects sensitive
Prime Minister Scott Morri- been in the process now to China. “It’s pretty outra-
son and opposition leader over the last week or so of geous that you’re in a situ-
Bill Shorten each have ac- seeking to repatriate how ation where an Australian
counts with China’s largest Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks at a business that’s done,” Morrison said. politician in a full-blown de-
social media platform, We- breakfast in Darwin, Wednesday, April 24, 2019. Shorten said he left his La- mocracy is being censored
Chat, which they use to tar- Associated Press bor Party to set up his ac- in what they can say by the
get the Chinese diaspora “We haven’t experienced Chinese government.” count. The party said it was Chinese government trying
ahead of federal elections any such censorship,” Mor- WeChat was launched by set up in early 2017 by an to speak to other Austra-
on May 18. rison told reporters. Chinese giant Tencent in Australian resident who is lians within Australia,” Han-
Critics argue that the Aus- Bill Shorten, who leads the 2011 and the app, known employed by the party. It son said. “It’s absolutely
tralian political leaders risk center-left Labor Party, was in China as Weixin, has be- is jointly operated by Short- preposterous.”
being kicked off the plat- similarly unconcerned by come essential for daily life en’s office and the party. Hanson’s own research es-
form if they don’t comply the type of censorship that in China. “Labor has never experi- timated that there were 1.5
with Chinese censorship the Chinese Communist Morrison’s account was enced any censorship of million active WeChat users
rules. Party routinely exercises on registered in January under our communications on in Australia including Chi-
Morrison said his account Chinese social media. the name of a Chinese citi- any social media plat- nese-speaking Australians,
has not been subjected to “I’m not fussed at all,” zen in Fujian province, and forms,” a party statement tourists and international
Chinese censorship used Shorten told reporters. “I do Shorten’s account was reg- said. “We do not tolerate students. Australia has a
on social media. not feel censored by the istered to a Chinese citizen any outside interference population of 25 million.q

Sudan military says 3 members of ruling council resign

By FAY ABUELGASIM of failing to make a clean it was unclear if that plan
SAMY MAGDY break with al-Bashir’s re- had changed. A military
Associated Press gime. spokesman, Lt. Gen. Sham-
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The Sudanese Profession- seldin Kibashi, said after the
Sudan’s ruling military coun- als Association and its al- meeting that Lt. Gen. Omar
cil said three of its mem- lies, which organized the Zain al-Abdin, the council’s
bers resigned Wednesday four months of escalating chief negotiator, and two
amid heightened tensions demonstrations that led people on a council-affili-
with the organizers of pro- the military to remove al- ated political committee,
tests that toppled President Bashir from power April 11, submitted their resigna-
Omar al-Bashir after three returned to the talks a day tions.
decades in power. before planned mass ral- The Sudanese Professionals
The announcement came lies. Association had said that
after generals met with The association had said Zain al-Abdin was the head
leaders of an opposition before the meeting that of al-Bashir’s party within
group that had suspended In this Tuesday, April 23, 2019, photo, Sudanese protesters crowd it would announce its the military and was “trying
talks over the weekend a train in the capital Khartoum. own transitional govern- to bring back the deposed
while accusing the military Associated Press ing council Thursday, but regime.” q