China: was the government watching over the SNS? Anxiety spread in speech making

Recently the NHK News On-line reported the following:

政府がＳＮＳを監視？ 発言に不安広がる 中国

1月3日 7時21分

中国で人気のＳＮＳを使ったやり取りについて、大企業の経営者が監視されているおそれがあるとの懸念を示したことが利用者の間に波紋を広げ運営会社が打ち消しを迫られる事態となり、政府などによる通信監視に対する中国の人々の不安を浮き彫りにしています。

中国版ＬＩＮＥとも呼ばれる「ウェイシン」はスマートフォンでメッセージや写真のやり取りができるＳＮＳで、利用者は中国を中心に９億人を超えています。

このＳＮＳを使ったやり取りについて、１日、大手自動車メーカーの経営者が企業関係者が集まる会合で「日々、見られていると思う」などと話し、監視されているおそれがあるとの懸念を示したことから、ネット上でこの発言に注目が集まり、波紋が広がっています。

これに対して「ウェイシン」の運営会社は、「うわさは誤解で、利用者のプライバシーは尊重されている」とする声明を発表するなど打ち消しを迫られる事態になっています。

中国では、政府によるインターネットの規制強化が進み、去年からは個人の利用者で作るグループのやり取りまで取締りの対象になっています。

こうしたことを背景にネット上では、今回の運営会社の声明に対しても「信じられない」などとする書き込みが多く見られ、政府や運営会社による通信監視に対する中国の人々の不安を浮き彫りにしています。

My translation

In China regarding the use of the popular SNS, fears of proprietors of large enterprises over being watched in communication exchanges had spread among the users; and there was a situation that the Net operating company was forced to cancel the monitoring, and Chinese people's anxiety towards communication monitoring by the government etc. stood out.

The so called "Way Shinn" was the LINE edition in China which was a SNS through which messages and pictures could be exchanged by the smart phones, and the users in China had exceeded 900 million people .

Regarding using this SNS for communication exchange, the proprietor of a major automobile company at the meeting with individuals who were directly related to the company had gathered on the 1st and said that "I think we were being watched every day”, indicating the anxiety of being monitored; this remark had drawn attention in the Net, and a sensation was spreading.

In response to this the operating company of "Way Shinn" announced a statement in which they assumed that "the hearsay is a misunderstanding and users' privacy are respected”; a situation of being forcing to cancel their action had developed.

In China tightening control in the Internet by the government was developing, and even group communication exchange formed by individual users had became the target of control since last year.

On the Net against these backgrounds,  many writings in response to the statement of the operating company was that "it is not trusted"; Chinese people’s anxiety in communication monitoring both by the government and the operating company stood out.

     I am wondering whether the overseas companies inside China could develop their own ways of communication, for example back to the old days of  using the coded telegrams.