This time it’s authentic: Chinese ambassador to US Cui Tiankai joins Twitter months after fake account was suspended
- In his first message, Ambassador Cui Tiankai said he was taking to Twitter as a way of ‘engaging with more American people’
- The Chinese embassy in Washington also opened a Twitter account on Monday
Almost a year after a fake Twitter account was established in his name, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, has officially joined the American social media site.
In a tweet posted just after 6am Washington time on Monday, Cui – using the handle @AmbCuiTiankai – wrote that he has turned to Twitter, which is blocked in his home country, as a way of “engaging with more American people”.
The Twitter page carries the ambassador’s full name under his photo, the title “Chinese ambassador to the United States” and a link to the embassy’s website.
The account attracted more than 700 followers and over 90 “likes” on its first day.
Some government organisations, such as the Chinese embassy in Canada, have authenticated Twitter accounts, but very few Chinese officials have verified accounts on Twitter, which is blocked in China along with Facebook and other US social media platforms.