The Chinese tech company Tencent has blocked a number of chat groups on chatapp WeChat. These are groups where people complain about Evergrande, the Chinese real estate company that has financial problems and has recently come to a lot of attention.
Because of the blockade, it is no longer possible to organize protests and discuss claims. Eight users in at least eight different chat groups, each with 200 to 500 people, said they couldn’t send new messages to the chat group on Tuesday.
Tencent refused to respond to the Reuters news agency. Also, the Chinese authority in charge of cybersecurity did not respond to requests for comments.
The crisis at Evergrande, which is weighed down by a debt of EUR 260 billion and is in the middle of a payment crisis, gives the Chinese government a lot of concern.
Beijing wants the group to fulfil its obligations, but on the other hand it also takes into account the unrest that would arise if Evergrande were to collapse.
Angry home buyers and retail investors protested in several cities over the past few weeks. Many complained about the situation via social media. The protesters often used WeChat, the country’s most popular chat app.
