End of an era? Chinese official who blazed a trail on social media under investigation
- Provincial cadre Wu Hao has racked up 1.5 million followers since he joined Weibo using his real name and identity
- Some are lamenting that the days when officials dared to engage directly with the public online could be over
Chinese graft-busters announced this week that a provincial propaganda official in the southwest is under investigation – a case that is generating interest online because of his embrace of social media.
Wu Hao, the 52-year-old deputy head of the Yunnan Radio and Television Bureau, was the first Chinese official at that level to join Weibo – China’s Twitter – using his real name and identity in 2009.
The anti-corruption body did not give further details of the case.
Seen as an outlier in Chinese officialdom, Wu has also called for more transparency – declaring his family’s properties and even his car number plate on his Weibo account.
Since Wednesday’s announcement, hundreds have left comments on that account – some critical of Wu, others lamenting that an “open-minded” party official who was willing to engage directly with the public was suspected of corruption.
One person wrote that it could be seen “as the end of an era”. “It may be difficult for netizens today to imagine that Chinese government officials would actually argue with netizens on Weibo 12 years ago,” they said.