Banning WeChat is a Huge Loss for America

By David Geiger, August 9, 2020

[As posted directly on Twitter and Facebook on August 8, 2020]

Most Americans have never heard of WeChat, but to some Americans it is a crucial tool in communicating with friends, family, and businesses.

I see many articles about the ban in the American press that just lump TikTok and WeChat together as if they were similar. Using “Wechat” in the same sentence as “TikTok” is like talking about bowling alleys and space travel in the same sentence…it just makes no sense. TikTok is entertainment with some education. It requires one finger to use and will wear that finger out. It is addictive and fun and I see no reason to ban it.

Wechat on the other hand, is a miracle. It is far more advanced than anything similar in the USA. It has over a billion users and is used almost universally by people in China. It has so many tools for payments and ride sharing and group chats and business marketing and staying connected that I can’t even begin to cover it all here – and those things are mostly irrelevant in the USA because few Americans use it and most of the business features only work in China.

Here is one small example of how I saw WeChat used in China in 2018 – long before Americans even started thinking about pandemics or social distancing or masks. But those things were not new to the people of China in 2018. When walking into a restaurant in China, phones are pulled out and used to scan a QR code on the table and then immediately people are ordering food from the menu on their phone. Before long food was being delivered to the table – all controlled by the diners using functionality in Wechat. Perhaps now that we have learned about pandemics we will be interested in similar functionality here soon too. And yes, I am sure we will have many apps we can use other than WeChat.

To me the shame of this ban, the almost humanitarian cruelty of it, is that we have welcomed Chinese families to relocate to the USA for at least 40 years, since the reopening, and to some extent prior to that also. They came, bought beautiful houses, started businesses, attended school and university, and made a home here. With time and the growth of the internet they were able to not just write letters or call China on the telephone, but they could video chat with family in China for no cost other than internet and a smartphone. Now they are able to talk with mom and dad or little sister every morning and see their face in the video, to see the home they grew up in, to call their brother in Beijing or their old college friend in Guangzhou. And now we want to ban the leading app for this communication. Yes, there are other apps that they can use, but remember, Mom or Dad may not speak English and switching to another app will not be easy. Think of your own parents or grandparents and how that would go with them.

Another function of WeChat which is very useful in America is translation. When in a WeChat text chat with someone Chinese, they can type their messages in Chinese and the American user can simply touch the message and translate to English (or to almost any language). For the Chinese user it is the same – just touch the English words and it will translate to Chinese characters. The translation is not perfect, but it is very helpful. This is a lot easier than copying the text, going to Google Translate, getting the translation, and returning to, for example, WhatsApp or Telegraph. It allows almost real time conversations between two people who do not have a common language. For Americans trying to start or run a business in China or a Chinese company doing the same in the USA, this is invaluable. It is also invaluable for making friends and maintaining friendships across borders and languages, and in the end, invaluable for avoiding conflict and war and the death that comes with that.

I met a young Chinese family on a train in China in 2015. The parents spoke no English but they were excited for their little girls to practice their English with an American. I enjoyed the conversation very much. I connected with the parents on WeChat and we were able to communicate immediately. We became friends and to this day we keep in touch on WeChat. We talked about the novel coronavirus in January of this year when they were in lockdown and again in May when we were in lockdown here. Will that tie be severed in 45 days?

For those who would say that the Chinese government might be monitoring my conversations I would say two things – 1) so does my government and 2) I don’t say anything of interest to them and I don’t care, I want to talk to my friends. I would prefer neither government listen to my conversations but that is difficult to control.

Banning WeChat in the USA will cause heartbreak and worry and will do no good for anyone.

David