Government officials in the American city of San Gabriel have opened a Weibo account to help connect with the city's large Chinese immigrant population.
Weibo is one of the most popular social networks in China, with around 212 million monthly active users, and is a micro-blogging platform similar to Twitter.
A spokesperson from San Gabriel's local government explained the decision to open a Weibo account, saying: “A lot of the cities, especially in our area, have a really large Chinese-speaking population, and Facebook and Twitter just don't cut it anymore.”
The response has been described as “overwhelming”, with the account attracting almost 2,000 followers within the first 24 hours. It now has as many followers as the city officials' Facebook page, which has been up for several years.Â
