President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) promised to share his thoughts and communicate with the public on Facebook as his official Facebook page launched yesterday morning, attracting tens of thousands of netizens with both positive and negative comments.
In a two-minute video recorded in his office, Ma shared his excitement about the launch of the page (www.facebook.com/MaYingjeou).
He promised to interact with users more via the social networking site, while acknowledging that he would not be spending too much time online.
Photo: CNA
“Many world leaders have also launched Facebook pages or blogs, and I should not be absent from this latest trend ... However, it is impossible for me to maintain the page all by myself because I am very busy,” he said in the video.
As of 7pm, more than 60,000 fans had clicked on the page’s “like” button, while thousands left messages on his page to either applaud the launch of the page or challenge the president over various issues.
“Please listen to the voice of minority groups in society and stop signing economic agreements with China. We will continue to watch your performance,” Tsai Yi-che said on Ma’s Facebook page.
Some netizens also posted comments about their opposition to the government’s economic policies, while others expressed concern about education, the health insurance program and social welfare measures.
On the other hand, many applauded Ma for launching the page.
“It’s very touching. President Ma finally has a real chance to hear our voices,” Facebook user Louisa Han said.
In response to the comments, Ma posted another video clip on his page later in the afternoon to thank Facebook users for their passionate responses and he promised to lead the nation forward with solid policies this year.
“I am deeply moved by so many responses on my page. Some netizens wanted me to get rid of the wrinkles on my face and some asked me about commodity price increases ... I cherish the chance to interact with you all on Facebook and I will take everyone’s comments into consideration,” Ma said.
Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said Ma launched the Facebook page to promote the government’s policies, to exchange ideas with the public and to hopefully gain a better understanding of public opinion.
While welcoming all opinions, Lo said the president’s page would not accept appeals or petitions, as the Presidential Office has already set up a mechanism to handle them.
He said the Presidential Office would set up a team to maintain Ma’s Facebook page and that Ma would interact with netizens on his page in his spare time.
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