Some users have raised concerns over the new executive's past links to the central government. Image: ShutterstockChinese Twitter users have expressed concerns over the company's appointment of a regional executive who has a background working with the country's military and state security apparatus.
Kathy Chen, who will be based in Hong Kong, was most recently an executive with Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group before being hired by Twitter.
Since last week, when Chen was appointed Twitter's first managing director for China, Chinese users of the US microblogging site have raised concerns over her past links to the government and wondered if their freedom of speech on the platform would be compromised.
Although blocked in China, Twitter is a popular platform for Chinese – especially those living overseas – to freely express themselves in their native language.
“Twitter has vast amounts of users' data. Given that US tech firms have in the past kowtowed to China, and given the military background of Kathy Chen, it's only reasonable for the Chinese users of Twitter to be worried about the future,” He Qinglian, a prominent overseas-based political activist, wrote on her blog. She urged the US Congress to conduct a hearing on Chen's appointment.
Wen Yunchao, a US-based political dissident, noted on his Twitter account that Chen had worked for the People's Liberation Army for seven years and later headed an anti-virus software company in a joint venture with connections to the Ministry of Public Security. “It's only reasonable to question the direction of a company by its personnel decisions,” Wen wrote.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1255125-20160418.htm
