Students and faculty at University of California have been warned to immediately stop communicating through social media apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat. This warning comes from fears that the Chinese law enforcement agencies could possibly use what is being said against American students studying internationally. This sudden tension could be the result of the events on December 1 after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou directed by U.S. authorities. Although Meng is currently detained in Vancouver, she is facing bail. Since her arrest, tensions between China and Canada are increasingly heavy. Two Canadians have been arrested on the assumption that they were “threatening China’s national security”, according to CNN News. All charges seem politically motivated.
The Director of media relations of UC’s Office of the President, Claire Doan, sent an email out to staff and students following the travel advisory set on China. The email was reportedly sent to raise awareness of the UC community regarding China, specifically the students studying abroad there. Colleges participating with China for study abroad locations include New York University, Duke University, and University of Liverpool. The new UC guidance instructs staff to be cautious of information being given out to certain sources and avoid lengthy Q&A interrogations. These instructions were given out to prevent the Chinese government from being given any reason or suspicion to try and arrest or detain Western fereignors from leaving the country. All social media is not guaranteed to be safe and executives and owners of each app have not commented on the issue at hand.
I took a quick interest in this article due to the fact that I studied abroad as a high school student but was lucky enough to study in a safe and Western country. I know from experience that most European countries prefer WhatsApp over iMessage, which I had to adjust to and quickly found it was much easier. Assuming the situation is the same in East Asia, I cannot even imagine how the students even communicate with their family without the fear of no privacy. This issue is extremely serious especially because I am convinced that all of this is politically motivated and directed at Western citizens. It is very unfortunate that these conflicts are occuring and not only possibly affecting the education of those who are studying abroad, but this could also become a threat to specific individuals who enjoy to travel. In addition, it’s also an extreme invasion of privacy which the owners of the social media platforms should definitely comment on. The travel advisory has already been set on China and makes most unhopeful for the future regarding traveling and sightseeing. Personally, I would never study in China but it’s extremely sad to watch this unfold especially for students who are currently living and have paid to be in China. I would like to read a follow up article discussing the opinions and reactions of students here, abroad in China, and even Chine students who attend school with international ones.