New | Zuckerberg hosts Chinese internet regulator, 'buys Xi Jinping's book' for Facebook staff
Move interpreted as an effort by Zuckerberg to court the government of China, where Facebook is blocked
A Chinese government news portal released a photo Monday of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with a copy of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s book on governance at his desk while hosting the country’s top internet regulator.
Zuckerberg, who has long sought market access to China, where Facebook is blocked, was quoted by China.com.cn as saying he purchased several copies of Xi’s book so he and colleagues could learn about “socialism with Chinese characteristics”.
The California-based company did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding the visit to Facebook’s offices by Internet regulator Lu Wei.
China.com.cn said Zuckerberg gave Lu a tour of Facebook’s office in Putonghua.
The gesture, interpreted as an effort by Zuckerberg to court the government, disappointed and angered activists in China, who have long held the social networking company in high regard for its ability to share information beyond the tight controls of the ruling Communist Party.
“Mr Zuckerberg is either ignorant of China’s politics or shameless,” said prominent dissident Hu Jia, who called Lu a top enemy of Internet freedom and expressed worry that technology giants such as Facebook were kowtowing to Beijing for their own business interests. “He is an Internet genius who should understand the power of technology for social change.”