China social media users beg for accounts back after protest ban

Police officers stand near a bridge where social media videos earlier appeared to show smoke and protest banners in Beijing, on Thursday, Oct 13, 2022. Hundreds of WeChat users have had their accounts blocked, some permanently, after making reference to a small demonstration in the capital on Oct 13 that called for Xi's ouster. — AP

BEIJING: Dozens of Chinese Internet users have posted desperate pleas for access to their WeChat app accounts after hundreds were banned for posts about a rare street protest in Beijing against President Xi Jinping.

The app is critical to daily life in China, allowing hundreds of millions of people to communicate, make payments, take part in Covid contact tracing and access entertainment, but it is also heavily surveilled by the state.