What Might a Ban on WeChat Mean for Chinese Students Studying in the United States?
Photo copyright STRF/STAR MAX/IPx 2020
What Might a Ban on WeChat Mean for Chinese Students Studying in the United States?
BU users say it would have a profound impact on their daily lives
On August 6, President Trump issued two executive orders banning US transactions with two popular Chinese apps, WeChat and TikTok, citing national security concerns. While the fate of TikTok has been drawing most of the headlines in the United States, for Chinese students studying here, the WeChat ban is far more concerning, and could profoundly impact their lives.
With over 1.2 billion active users monthly across the globe, WeChat is the most popular communication app in the world, a powerful all-in-one tool for text messaging, e-commerce, payments, video games, location sharing, news, and business transactions in China. With many global social media providers currently blocked in China, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google, WeChat is also the main tool for Chinese students studying in America to connect with their families and friends back home. Despite a temporary injunction issued last month by a federal judge blocking Trump’s ban on WeChat, the future of the app here in the United States remains uncertain.
What would a ban mean for BU students from China? In our video, Marketing and Communications international social media specialist Carol Duan talks with Chinese students Jiaxin Tong (COM’22) and Peiyu Ma (COM’21) to find out.
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