I don't think this is true. I've been using Wechat from US. I can see all the people's moments in China and in some groups fine. All the services I've tried so far have worked okay.
I also don't think this is true. I've been using a US based version of WeChat for a couple years now, and I have had no problems adding and chatting with people in and outside of China. I do want to add that while I didn't have to jump through any hoops to activate my account, I've had westener friends get stuck on having to be verified. I can't remember if I was able to vouch for them or not.
