Mr. Shangkong | Facebook and Twitter go live in China - but only for Chengdu business forum

Facebook and Twitter, the world’s two largest real-time social media network services, finally went live in China, but only in one small location and for the next few days.

Chengdu, host of the Fortune Global Forum this year, surprised journalists who flew in from all over the world to the mainland’s western financial capital when it allowed access to Facebook and Twitter. The sites have been banned on the mainland for many years.

Access to Facebook and Twitter, however, is limited only to the main venue, the Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Chengdu, where all approved forum participants, including the press, can use free Wifi.

“I hope we can also have access to Facebook and Twitter in other places in Chengdu rather than just the Shangri-La Hotel,” said a local reporter, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. “Otherwise, it’s so obvious that this is just about face and promotion.”

Access to Facebook and Twitter remains unsuccessful in other locations outside the forum site at the Shangri-La Hotel. Other major hotels such as Holiday Inn do not allow guests to access those social media sites even though some forum participants are staying there.