LGBTQ activists give voice to China's censored WeChat groups

After accounts wiped, slogan 'We are all user name not found' pops up in New York

Activists say recent takedowns of LGBTQ groups on WeChat reflect growing pressure on the community in China, and an increasingly unwelcoming online atmosphere in general. © Reuters

MARRIAN ZHOU, Nikkei staff writer

July 17, 2021 10:45 JST

NEW YORK -- The Chinese woman was in her 20s, dressed in black from head to toe, with a mask and sunglasses to conceal her identity. On a cloudy Saturday afternoon in New York City's Central Park, she was explaining colorful messages -- many with the rainbow of the LGBTQ movement -- affixed to slabs of carboard and hung on a fence.