Xi's top fan calls it quits on blog site after coming clean

Two days after admitting he was the author of a mysterious microblog about Communist Party chief Xi Jinping's activities, Zhang Hongming sent a message hinting he would stop making posts to the blog, "Fan Club of Learning From Xi".

Zhang, who has more than 800,000 followers, wrote: "Goodbye. I was happy when I came here, but I'm leaving today with deep feelings … Thanks to all the fans [of Xi], perhaps there is no room for us due to limited public understanding, or perhaps there is no room for us in the real world.

"I feel remorse and regret for disturbing them due to the existence of the Fan Club of Learning From Xi." He did not explain who he meant by "them".

Zhang did not respond to requests yesterday for an interview.

The announcement surprised many users of the Sina Weibo microblogging service, with many urging him not to quit and saying he was doing "just doing great". Others were left speculating about the reasons behind his sudden decision to quit.

In an interview with Associated Press on Saturday, Zhang, who described himself as a technical college dropout and migrant worker now living in Wuxi , Jiangsu , said the microblog, which he started on November 21, was all his own work.