Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) recently opened an account on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo, with the hope of enhancing Chinese people’s understanding of the DPP through the site.
Tsai said he found that a lot of Chinese people have misconceptions about the DPP or attributed extremely odd ideas to the party.
“The microblog is an alternative medium of communication in addition to the government and academic channels,” he said, adding that such a platform offers many benefits at little cost.
He said he would share articles posted on his Facebook page on the microblog, but will not write articles especially for the site.
“Democracy is as natural as air,” he said, adding that one should not impose limitations on oneself, but one should also not overdo things.
In a brief introduction of himself on Sina Weibo, Tsai said that he wants “to let you hear different voices, as well as voices from Taiwan.”
The introduction was signed: “a Taiwanese legislator.”
Although the number of visitors to his account is low, netizens from Beijing, as well as Shandong, Guangdong and Fujian provinces, have already showed interest.
It is not uncommon for Taiwanese political figures to be active on Chinese microblogs.
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) has been using such microblogs for some time.
With the opening of his account, Tsai has become the first legislator from the pan-green camp to have a presence on the microblog site.
Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬), director of the DPP’s Department of the Internet, said that many Chinese people are curious about the party.
However, Chinese laws prohibit the creation of an account in the name of the DPP, he said.
“We don’t want to open an account just for them to block it,” he said.
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