Ban or not, UN Secretary-General launches WeChat account for Chinese

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Even as India's Intelligence Bureau (IB) seeks censorship on messaging services such as China-based WeChat, and the Saudi regime is mulling ban on WhatsApp, Skype, and similar apps, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched an official UN account on the WeChat platform.

The new account is aimed to facilitate UN's social media presence in the China region. While unveiling the service, Ban Ki-moon said that he hoped WeChat would enable many Chinese citizens to get information and news about the latest UN initiatives. The service, he believes, would allow close interaction with people.

This morning, the United Nations @UN tweeted: "Do you use WeChat? Ban Ki-moon recently launched the UN's account. Ask him questions there now." This move comes ahead of Ban Ki-moon's China visit, which is scheduled for July 18-21, 2013.

"The Official United Nations WeChat account will be managed by the UN Department of Public Information that would share UN's work worldwide with its subscribers. WeChat users can follow the UN account by searching: Lianheguo," the UN statement said.

During his visit Ban Ki-moon will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, and is expected to celebrate a milestone in the UN's social media engagement in China. To recognize the UN social engagement in China, he is expected to hand a certificate to the four millionth follower of the official UN Weibo account.