With the Trump administration targeting WeChat, some worry they will lose the last line of communication they have with the rest of their family thousands of miles away.

@suhaunah reports: https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-08-12/wechat-lifeline-chinese-diaspora-trump-ban">https://www.latimes.com/business/...

WeChat is often described as the Swiss army knife of apps — a messaging service, payments platform & social network.

With China’s patchwork of firewalls, filters & censors, WeChat is one of few bridges left between China & the rest of the digital world. https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-08-12/wechat-lifeline-chinese-diaspora-trump-ban">https://www.latimes.com/business/...

It’s hard to overstate how much of life for California’s Chinese diaspora unfolds on WeChat.

Some grocery stores use it as a payment method. People shop, read news and organize donation drives and political actions there. Real estate agents list properties on the platform.

News of the WeChat crackdown sent L.A. communities and Chinese enclaves nationwide into a panic.

People were left to scan news and message friends and relatives to parse what the decision could mean for them, their families and their businesses. https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-08-12/wechat-lifeline-chinese-diaspora-trump-ban">https://www.latimes.com/business/...