Just because Facebook is banned in China doesn’t mean its CEO isn’t a welcome guest in the nation.
Mark Zuckerberg has held a meeting with China’s propaganda chief this weekend, a new report reveals.
Chinese news agency Xinhua says the Facebook founder met with Liu Yunshan to discuss helping “internet development better benefit the people of all countries”.
Facebook is currently banned in China, along with other western social media platforms like Twitter.
Locals instead turn to alternate eastern services like RenRen and Weibo, as Facebook is unable to capitalise on a huge potential market.
As such, it’s no surprise Zuckerberg is making apparent moves to improve relations with the censor-heavy nation.
Zuckerberg was visiting China was primarily to attend an economic forum, but the CEO faced unexpected backlash during the trip.
The Facebook CEO posted a photo of himself jogging through smog in Tiananmen Square, at a time when Beijing’s air pollution index was “well into the hazardous zone”, as noted by the Guardian.
Mark Zuckerberg running past Tiananmen Palace
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The BBC reports one critic on Facebook – named Ginny Koh – as saying : “For someone who keeps proclaiming his love and interest and China and wants to make it big, you sure don’t know anything about our country. For one, everyone in Beijing hast o wear a mask. We don’t take air pollution lightly like you do.”
Others pointed out that the smiling snap was taken in the place where the Tiananmen Square massacre took place, a horrific incident that saw Chinese troops kill hundreds of student protestors in 1989. Despite the tragedy however, the location is still a popular tourist destination thanks to the nearby Tiananmen Palace.
Do you think China will ever unblock Facebook? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.