How to Get around Messaging Giant WeChat

On August 6, 2020, the Trump administration issued an Executive Order addressing the threats posed by WeChat. It caused panic and anxiety within Chinese American community. To be clear, the order itself doesn't ban WeChat outright but anyone who is aware of what's going on lately between the U.S. and China could see the writing on the wall - a blockage of such popular social media tool is not only likely but maybe even imminent.

In recent years, WeChat has become the single most popular social platform, especially within the Chinese overseas diaspora community, because all other competitors have been blocked in China, e.g. Telegram, LINE, WhatsApp, Messenger. The list goes on. Therefore, in order to keep in touch with families and friends in China, most Chinese Americans in the U.S., if not all, rely on WeChat.

This article intends to answer one question: What should those in the U.S. or China, who rely heavily on WeChat to communicate to folks on the other side of the pond, do if indeed WeChat is blocked or in the unlikely event that the app is withdrawn from the U.S. by Tencent that owns WeChat?

There are a number of choices although the answer is not always straightforward. It will depend on one's communication hardware, PC or cellphone, and the software, such as type as well as version of OS (Operating System) running on it.

I listed a few options below. One of the key assumptions is free service as a mandatory requirement because WeChat is by large a free app/service. Furthermore, access from China shouldn't require VPN for it's technically illegal to bypass GFW (Great Firewall) according to Chinese government regulations. The challenges and technical difficulties will be mostly on China's side, not on America's side, as some app stores, specific apps, particular types of user accounts with certain services, etc. are banned in China. Testing by trial and error is the only way to figure out what works and what doesn't.

1. Microsoft Skype: Skype is a telecommunications application that specializes in providing video chat and voice calls between computers, tablets, mobile devices, and smartwatches over the Internet. Skype also provides instant messaging services similar to WeChat in terms of basic functionalities but the interface/look and feel isn't the same. Users may transmit text, video, audio and images. Skype allows video conference calls. You could download Skype and use it for free. It runs on Android phones/tablets, all Apple products, such as iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Linux as well as Windows of course. Additionally, Chinese version is available. In last a couple of years, Skype for iPhone seems no longer available in App Store in China. The PC or Android version should be still accessible. My limited testing shows existing Skype accounts on Apple iOS seem still working. In any case, download and try it out on your phone or PC. If none of aforementioned method works, try the Skype web version which doesn't require any downloading and installation and which should work within a supported browser. VoIP (Voice over IP) is free but calling a phone line may require paid services, similar to Skype for Business.
2. Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform that combines persistent workplace chat, video meetings, file storage, and application integration. The service integrates with the Office 365 subscription office productivity suite and features extensions that can integrate with non-Microsoft products. It supports multiple platforms including but not limited to Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Microsoft Teams is the evolution and upgrade path from Skype for Business. Although it is geared toward business operations and team collaborations, personal usage of Teams app doesn't require paid services but features are limited without pay. Still, suffice to support calling or messaging family members and friends. My own limited testing indicates users in China can download and install Teams to make free calls/chats to the U.S. without a hitch.
3. Zoom: Zoom provides video telephony and online chat services through a cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform and is used mainly for teleconferencing, telecommuting, distance education, and social relations, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like Microsoft Teams, Zoom is geared toward business usage but supports limited personal usage on free of charge basis. Note that, at the time of writing, if you have a free account, you have unlimited 1-1 meetings and minutes, but your meetings with more than two participants will automatically end after 45 minutes. Beyond teleconferencing, Zoom's messaging capabilities are limited. Starting in May, 2020, Zoom has suspended individual users in China from hosting meetings on the platform, which means hosting meetings must be done on the U.S. side. I personally tested this approach using a free account and hosted someone virtually from China with success.
4. Letstalk: Letstalk is a free, easy, secure and reliable app that supports instant communication and messaging in text, photos, videos, voices or files, and ensures privacy by multiple levels of settings. The company is based in Taiwan. Letstalk runs on Android, iPhone & iPad, Windows and Mac. Like many social apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp, Letstalk uses end-to-end encryption and does not keep data in app, except for the users or third parties who can not get the information themselves. Security features include SHA 256 encryption for personal data, undecipherable messages using AES 256 to generate random keys, or messages encrypted with unique keys protected with RAS. Letstalk is not blocked in China. Download the app here.
5. Singal: Signal isn't blocked by the Great Firewall for now, both for iPhones via the App Store and Android via a direct download from Signal's website, as Google's Play Store is blocked in China. The app also supports PC including Windows, Mac and Linux. Download the app here. Signal conversations are always end-to-end encrypted and, according to the company, privacy isn’t an optional mode — it’s just the way that Signal works. Every message, every call, every time.

WeChat is a powerful tool and yet rampant censorship and surveillance on the platform sanctioned by the Chinese government based on CCP's decrees and narratives make WeChat a security threat to the overseas Chinese diaspora. Contrary to what some try to claim and want us to believe, a complete ban or blockage of WeChat in the U.S. is not the end of the world to Chinese American community. As shown here, there are viable alternatives to WeChat.

Most nontechnical users don't realize that using telecommunication tools or social media apps could expose one to security risks given that various or sometimes very little security standards are implemented. Or in the case of WeChat, no security standards at all. WeChat users are bare-naked digitally online. Some don't necessarily care while others are totally ignorant of such risk. Although most companies deny that they harvest or provide user data or meeting content in any circumstances to state or local authorities upon request, the bottom line is they all do, more or less, or they have to under certain cyber security laws or court orders due to potential national security considerations of different countries. With social media platform blurring the boundary of potentially antagonistic nations, the complexities and risks become less and less manageable precisely because different, sometimes contrary, and even clashing values, ethics, regulations, rules, and social and political norms are almost impossible to reconcile. So even if a seemingly friendly company claims it protects your security and privacy to the best of its ability, as an user, you just have to assume and be prepared for the likelihood of security breach and personal data loss or data in the wrong hands. As a responsible user, you shall know the full implications and limitations and risks before using any app. Don't share any sensitive or personal information online if you don't have to. And in the event you have to share sensitive information, adopt the most secure channels, the most secure encryption methods and safety best practices.

Most important, always remember to use your best judgment. Enjoy communicating and socializing online, safely and securely, with your families and friends.

Sources: various wikipedia pages and vendor online webpages are referenced and links are provided as such in the article.

Disclaimer: the author has no business relations or associations with any of the companies mentioned in the article, including Microsoft, Zoom, Letstalk, Singal and Apple.

The Horrendous American College Admissions

Finally, I am fed up with American college admissions.  And I decided to write about it. 

The following story is about my second son (two sons actually but mainly about the 2nd), who is graduating from high school this year.

A WARNING: What I will write here is not going to be pleasant to some readers.  It is opinionated and maybe even offensive to some but at least I promise everything I said here is as truthful as I can be.  My personal opinions aside, the facts are facts.

First, my son’s qualification including academic performance summarized by stats and extracurriculars is below, along with his college application outcome.  Everything provided in this section is written by him, only with some minor formatting changes by me.

Academics (attending a top 20 Massachusetts public high school, according to U.S. News 2020)

·       GPA: 4.92/5.0 weighted; 3.96/4.0 unweighted (school does not rank)

·       SAT: 1580 superscore (780 ERW, 800M); 1540 single-sitting (780 ERW, 760M)

·       SAT II: 800 Math II; 800 Biology-E; 770 U.S. History; 760 Physics

·       APs (4 in 2019, 6 in 2020): Computer Science A – 5; U.S. History – 5; Statistics – 5; Biology – 4; Physics C Mechanics; Physics C Electricity & Magnetism; Calculus BC; Chemistry; Psychology; Spanish

Extracurriculars

·       Boy Scouts (2013-present) - Currently a Life Scout on track to obtaining Eagle Scout Rank. Have held numerous leadership positions like Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, Senior Patrol Leader, and Patrol Leader

·       Congressional Debate (2016-present) - Have competed at local, state, and national level. As a varsity member, I aid in coaching novices at practice on content and presentation

·       Learning Lab (2019-present) - Tutoring students in academic support at the nearby middle schools. As Vice President I am responsible for organizing tutoring sessions at a middle school, recruiting new tutors, and spreading the word about our services

·       Indoor Track (2017, 2018) - Junior varsity

Awards/Distinctions

·       Life Scout Rank

·       AP Scholar with Honor

·       National Speech and Debate Association Honor Society Member with Distinction

·       3rd in Congressional Debate at 2020 NSHS Winter Festival Speech Tournament

College Application & Major Decision

Rejected

·       Stanford University (Restrictive Early Action)

·       University of California, Berkeley

·       University of Texas at Austin

·       University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

·       Harvey Mudd College

Waitlisted

·       University of Chicago

·       Tulane University

·       Carnegie Mellon University

·       Georgia Institute of Technology

·       University of California, Los Angeles

Accepted

·       University of Massachusetts, Amherst

·       Northeastern University

·       Trinity University

·       University of California, San Diego

Now, the bottom line is even with some good understanding of how American college admissions process is notorious for its unnecessary opaqueness, complexity and subjectivity, I am still quite shocked that the best colleges he, despite having a very successful high school career, can manage getting into do not include some top public universities of his choice, let alone highly selective private schools.

A few more background points and thoughts:

1. Both my wife and I are first generation immigrants from China and we are naturalized U.S. citizens. When I came to this country in 1993, I was dirt poor and had to work all sorts of odd jobs – cleaning restrooms and toilets, working 12 hours a day in restaurants as dishwasher and waiter, mopping floors, bartending at nightclubs, mowing lawns and landscaping during summer - while putting myself through graduate school.  
2. After graduating with a master’s in computer science, I’ve been working for several Fortune 500 companies since 1997.  Also starting from a humble background, my entrepreneurial wife is running her own business now.  After more than twenty years of hard work, we are middle class with a comfortable life style, and based on our family income, sometimes in the top 5%.
3. Both of us believe in public education. Although we can afford sending our children to private schools, we never seriously consider it.  But in retrospect, maybe a mistake.  The high school my son’s attending is ranked #20 in the state by U.S. News and has a reputation for rigorous and high academic standards.  So we thought, as one of top students, he should have a very good chance at some top universities and colleges.
4. Most public high schools in Massachusetts don’t rank officially, on purpose.  But unofficially, according to what we learned, he is ranked academically in top 5 (not top 5%) in his class, which is more than 480 students.
5. We never hired any college admission counselors, private tutors, or anything in that nature to help my son. Frankly, it’s not that we never consider it but rather he would outrightly reject such assistance from us.  He wants to be totally independent and he is down to earth.  So every time when someone makes the argument that the reason kids like my son who are academically successful is because they are privileged and get extra “help” from their affluent families, it exasperates me. Not only it diminishes a student’s hard work and achievements but also this sort of blanket argument is condescending and hurtful, and more importantly, antithetical to fundamental American values of personal liberty, self-empowerment, fairness and equality.  Unfortunately, it’s a prevalent argument in this country nowadays and a belief widely held even by many educators.
6. From things I could gather, such as some known cases around me and a deluge of YouTube videos where college applicants ecstatically revealed their qualifications and application outcomes, I am even more confused and puzzled because many seemingly less qualified than my son got into their dream schools, the same ones from which he was rejected.
7. Five years ago when my first son applied colleges, we had high hopes for him. Academically outstanding albeit less stellar than his younger brother but more active in extracurriculars, he had a passion for debate and led his school clubs in many debates and STEM tournaments countless times and won many nationwide and state wide awards.  He was rejected by almost all ivies or equivalent top schools. Based on that experience, my wife and I advised our second son not to apply any ivy schools.
8. Both my sons are Eagle Scouts and they are proud of it.  Both have dedicated a lot of time and energy in scouting, helping other kids, serving the organization as well as their community wholeheartedly with passion.  But honestly, I don’t know whether it actually helps more than hurts their chances at applying colleges, especially given the ideological direction most schools are going towards these days.
9. Also based on what I can gather, I believe the American educational system is against kids with similar family background like mine - high income but not so high in social status.  I hate to think this way but evidence reveals a reality regardless of our personal feelings.  Somehow because we are more successful than most, at least economically, and living in a good life, our kids are penalized by approaches such as the ill-conceived "diversity score" (in fact, colleges don't even need such score and still could have the same info from other sources) or subject to much higher college admission standards as if we have “Original sin.”  I reject such notion.  The very success we had as first generation Americans in this country confirms American dream is alive and well.  Social mobility is within reach in one generation.  Is this not something every American should cherish instead of bickering about how we’ve lost social mobility to the point where a revolution or wealth redistribution or some sort of class warfare must be called for and carried out to progress? 
10. My sons’ college application experiences and results have been a disappointment to me. Of course, don’t get me wrong as I truly believe where one goes to college doesn’t define the person, nor one's success or worth.  But from a different point of view, it is without any doubt in my mind that they didn’t get into the best colleges they could get into.
11. Two years ago, when Harvard was forced to reveal its despicable and outrageous low personality scores for Asian American applicants during a lawsuit, it seems to me all the speculations and suspicions about discriminatory practices and racial quotas against Asian Americans, especially those from families of high income but somewhat dubious social status, are corroborated and confirmed.
12. At this point, I am totally at a loss in terms of how to evaluate American college admissions as a whole.  I don’t understand the system.  Neither do I think anyone with good rationale and clear conscience does. I don’t know what top American colleges are looking for.  Reading recent news such that University of California system is eliminating SAT/ACT scores, I am deeply concerned about the future of American higher education and the future of my third son who will apply colleges in 4 years.

Westford News reports panel discussion on Asian data disaggregation

Panelists Square Off Over Legislator’s Push for State Agencies to Collect Data on Asian Americans

By: Joyce Pellino Crane | April 22, 2018

 

Massachusetts Asian Data Disaggregation Panel Discussion

The panel discussion on MA Asian Data Disaggregation Bill (H.3361) hosted by Westford CAT on March 29, 2018 consists of two sessions.  The format is 28 minutes per session which roughly allows for 3 questions followed by a wrap-up.  And each person has less than 3 minutes to answer a question selected by the moderator.  Panelist can't directly respond to a speaker but can ask the moderator for permission to respond so the discussion is less dynamic or confrontational, for better or for worse. 

I was part of the second panel starting at 27:16 and argued passionately against H.3361. Enjoy all the arguments whether you are for H.3361 or against it.

Boston Broadside Op-Ed "From Asian Registry to Race and Ethnicity Quagmire"

Since MA H.3361 was introduced, it has met with fierce opposition.  Now the MA bill originally targeting Asian Americans has been changed to target all MA residents.  In this Op-Ed titled "From Asian Registry to Race and Ethnicity Quagmire", published in Boston Broadside, I argued against such legislation or any form of racial profiling. Welcome your thoughts and comments. 

From Asian Registry to Race and Ethnicity Quagmire

About a year ago, State Rep. Tackey Chan proposed the Asian Data Disaggregation Act (H.3361) which blatantly requires “all state agencies, quasi-state agencies, entities created by state statute and sub-divisions of state agencies” to identify Asian Americans, and only Asian Americans, based on their national origin or ancestry.  Disaggregation means separating something into its component parts.  This senseless bill will essentially create an Asian Registry.

After half a dozen of protests, an overwhelming number of emails and calls from indignant constituents, and a long grueling hearing packed with six hundred opponents, a Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight voted on Feb. 7 to replace the current bill with new legislation which would be determined by "establish[ing] a special commission to study the feasibility and impact of directing state agencies to collect disaggregated demographic data for all ethnic and racial groups, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.”  The commission would submit its recommendations to the Legislature by Dec. 31, 2018.  In a statement, Rep. Chan announced he was “thrilled” with the committee’s decision to “move H.3361 forward”.

Although collecting demographic data for all racial and ethnic groups may avoid the thorny question of “Why Asians only” and hence the contentious issue of violating constitutional equal protection law, it will nonetheless cause many other problems.

First and foremost, our government’s attempt to divide ethnic groups based on national origin is detrimental to the fight against institutional and societal racism.  For instance, the U.S. Census only has one box for White or Black as a category while Asians are disaggregated into Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, etc.  In addition, our country has a shameful history of racial discrimination and xenophobia, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Japanese-American internment during WWII, and even today, the hidden Asian quota in many top American colleges and universities which reminds us of the Jewish quota in 1920s.

Beyond the problem of racial profiling, racial and ethnic classification has always been controversial. In sociology, the term of “race” refers to biological, genetic and physical differences while “ethnicity” describes shared culture or national origin or ancestry.  One challenge is both racial and ethnic identities have changed throughout history and could still change.  Furthermore, the inconsistency in racial and ethnic categorization leads to more confusion.  What’s in practice at local, state, and federal level is demographers want to force certain categories onto individuals regardless of self-identity.  For someone of Chinese heritage who was born in the U.S. and doesn’t speak a word of Chinese, there is a “Chinese” box for this person to check simply because of national origin of ancestry.

But why no box for “American”?  If there is truly a common set of values, perspectives, distinctions and culture which set apart Americans from the rest of the world, why don’t we all call ourselves Americans?

Instead, what we are witnessing is population segmentation based on the murky and dubious checkboxes of race, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, and the rise of identity politics, Balkanization, and tribalism, which ultimately lead to a race and ethnicity quagmire.

President Theodore Roosevelt once warned, “The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.”

While each of us should be proud of our heritage, it’s more important we focus on our shared destiny, shared citizenship, common values, beliefs, principles, and ideals, which triumph over any ideological divisions we might have.  E pluribus unum - Out of many, One.  Or we will become “a tangle of squabbling nationalities.”  The Massachusetts state legislature must stop the divisive and harmful ethnic profiling based on national origin once and for all. ⧫

State doesn’t need a racial registry

In this article published in The Patriot Ledger, I argued Massachusetts doesn't need a racial registry for all MA residents.  We must stop subdividing and segregating people on the basis of national origin. With a common set of values, principles, beliefs, and ideals, and a culture which sets us apart from the rest of the world, we shall call ourselves Americans and focus on our shared destiny and shared citizenship. 

http://www.patriotledger.com/opinion/20180307/george-shen-state-doesnt-need-racial-registry

Stop Massachusetts from creating an unconstitutional ‘Asian Registry’

My Op-Ed, "Stop Massachusetts from creating an unconstitutional ‘Asian Registry’", published on Sunday Telegram (2/11/2018) argues a proposed MA bill (H.3361) on Asian data collection is culturally insensitive, technically flawed, morally objectionable, and legally contentious.  Link to the original article and the content is posted below. 

http://www.telegram.com/opinion/20180211/as-i-see-it-stop-massachusetts-from-creating-unconstitutional-asian-registry

The Op-Ed is also published in The Patriot Ledger on 2/15/2018. 

http://www.patriotledger.com/opinion/20180307/stop-massachusetts-from-creating-unconstitutional-asian-registry