<s>
Weibo	O
( 微博	O
wēi	O
bó	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
general	O
term	O
for	O
microblogging	B-Application
,	O
but	O
normally	O
understood	O
as	O
Chinese-based	O
mini-blogging	O
services	O
,	O
including	O
social	O
chat	O
sites	O
and	O
platform	O
sharing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Weibo	O
services	O
use	O
a	O
format	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
American-based	O
Twitter-service	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
used	O
almost	O
exclusively	O
by	O
Chinese	O
language	O
speakers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
format	O
of	O
specific	O
features	O
is	O
not	O
exactly	O
identical	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
hashtags	O
on	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
and	O
Tencent	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
both	O
employ	O
a	O
double-hashtag	O
"	O
#HashName	O
#	O
"	O
method	O
,	O
since	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
spacing	O
between	O
Chinese	O
characters	O
necessitates	O
a	O
closing	O
tag	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
as	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
witnessed	O
by	O
the	O
280	O
(	O
formerly	O
140	O
)	O
characters	O
limit	O
that	O
is	O
in	O
use	O
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
the	O
140	O
character	O
blocks	O
limit	O
was	O
lifted	O
by	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
is	O
the	O
most	O
visited	O
such	O
site	O
in	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sina	O
has	O
used	O
the	O
domain	O
name	O
weibo.com	B-Protocol
for	O
the	O
service	O
since	O
April	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
site	O
's	O
popularity	O
and	O
domain	O
name	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
Weibo	O
is	O
often	O
used	O
generically	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
or	O
Tencent	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
309	O
million	O
people	O
microblogging	B-Application
in	I-Application
China	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wei	O
boke	O
( 微博客	O
)	O
and	O
weixing	O
boke	O
( 微型博客	O
)	O
,	O
commonly	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
weibo	O
( 微博	O
)	O
,	O
are	O
Chinese	O
words	O
for	O
"	O
microblog	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
China-based	O
microblogging	B-Application
service	O
often	O
names	O
itself	O
a	O
weibo	O
by	O
putting	O
it	O
after	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Tencent	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
,	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fanfou	B-Protocol
( 饭否	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
earliest	O
notable	O
weibo	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
's	O
layout	O
,	O
API	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
mode	O
of	O
use	O
was	O
highly	O
similar	O
to	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
created	O
earlier	O
in	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fanfou	B-Protocol
's	O
users	O
increased	O
from	O
0.3	O
million	O
to	O
1	O
million	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
half	O
of	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
other	O
weibo	O
services	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Jiwai	O
,	O
Digu	B-Application
,	O
Zuosa	O
and	O
Tencent	O
's	O
Taotao	O
were	O
launched	O
in	O
2006-2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
July	O
2009	O
Ürümqi	O
riots	O
,	O
the	O
CPC	O
government	O
shut	O
down	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
domestic	O
weibo	O
services	O
,	O
including	O
Fanfou	B-Protocol
and	O
Jiwai	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
popular	O
non	O
China-based	B-Application
microblogging	I-Application
services	I-Application
such	O
as	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
Plurk	B-Protocol
have	O
been	O
blocked	B-Application
since	O
then	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sina	O
launched	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
on	O
August	O
14	O
,	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
30	O
,	O
another	O
Internet	O
portal	O
Tencent	O
closed	O
its	O
weibo	O
service	O
,	O
Taotao	O
,	O
and	O
started	O
its	O
new	O
weibo	O
service	O
Tencent	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
on	O
March	O
5	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Building	O
on	O
the	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
its	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
service	O
QQ	B-Operating_System
's	O
users	O
,	O
Tencent	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
later	O
attracted	O
more	O
registered	O
users	O
than	O
Sohu	O
Weibo	O
and	O
NetEase	O
Weibo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
these	O
weibos	O
,	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
Chinese	O
Internet	O
giants	O
,	O
used	O
the	O
subdomain	B-Protocol
"	O
t.example.com	O
 "	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
t.sina.com.cn	O
for	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
,	O
t.qq.com	O
for	O
Tencent	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
,	O
t.sohu.com	O
for	O
Sohu	O
Weibo	O
,	O
t.163.com	O
for	O
NetEase	O
Weibo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
7	O
April	O
2011	O
,	O
the	O
leader	O
of	O
the	O
weibo	O
services	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
started	O
to	O
use	O
an	O
independent	O
domain	O
name	O
weibo.com	B-Protocol
acquired	O
earlier	O
,	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
build	O
up	O
its	O
own	O
brand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
closed	O
weibos	O
were	O
re-opened	O
under	O
restrictions	O
in	O
2009	O
or	O
2010	O
,	O
including	O
Fanfou	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
was	O
re-launched	O
in	O
November	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
Fanfou	B-Protocol
's	O
users	O
never	O
came	O
back	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
July	O
2009	O
,	O
Fanfou	B-Protocol
was	O
the	O
most	O
influential	O
weibo	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
threshold	O
was	O
officially	O
passed	O
by	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
in	O
March	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
iResearch	O
's	O
report	O
on	O
March	O
30	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
took	O
a	O
commanding	O
lead	O
over	O
its	O
competitors	O
,	O
with	O
56.5	O
%	O
of	O
China	O
's	O
microblogging	B-Application
market	O
based	O
on	O
active	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
86.6	O
%	O
based	O
on	O
browsing	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
July	O
2011	O
,	O
40.2	O
%	O
Chinese	O
Internet	O
users	O
and	O
34.0	O
%	O
Chinese	O
mobile	O
Internet	O
users	O
used	O
weibo/microblogs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Quite	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
studies	O
revealed	O
that	O
the	O
active	O
microblog	B-Application
users	O
are	O
government	O
departments	O
in	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
top	O
5	O
Weibo	O
microbloggers	B-Application
on	O
the	O
topic	O
construction	O
safety	O
were	O
government	O
departments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2009	O
,	O
Chinese	O
microblogs	B-Application
were	O
severely	O
curtailed	O
when	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
domestic	O
weibo	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
Fanfou	B-Protocol
were	O
shut	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
it	O
brought	O
the	O
birth	O
of	O
others	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Tencent	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
and	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
,	O
operated	O
by	O
large	O
Chinese	O
Internet	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Human	O
Rights	O
,	O
Liu	O
Xiaobo	O
)	O
are	O
deleted	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
account	O
may	O
be	O
blocked	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
official	O
newspaper	O
of	O
the	O
Central	O
Committee	O
of	O
the	O
Chinese	O
Communist	O
Party	O
,	O
the	O
People	O
's	O
Daily	O
,	O
also	O
launched	O
its	O
own	O
People	O
's	O
Weibo	O
( 人民微博	O
)	O
in	O
February	O
2010	O
,	O
with	O
some	O
governmental	O
organizations	O
and	O
officials	O
blogging	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Recent	O
studies	O
have	O
shown	O
that	O
official	O
microblogging	B-Application
has	O
become	O
a	O
sophisticated	O
e-government	O
effort	O
for	O
social	O
management	O
,	O
especially	O
for	O
local	O
governments	O
and	O
state	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
doing	O
so	O
,	O
government	O
units	O
are	O
experimenting	O
with	O
ways	O
of	O
interaction	O
and	O
negotiation	O
with	O
the	O
microblogging	B-Application
public	O
and	O
service	O
providers	O
in	O
their	O
attempt	O
to	O
improve	O
social	O
management	O
and	O
political	O
legitimacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
username	O
that	O
shows	O
on	O
their	O
homepage	O
does	O
n't	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
their	O
real	O
legal	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
weibo	O
users	O
complained	O
about	O
this	O
policy	O
,	O
and	O
Sina	B-Protocol
Weibo	I-Protocol
started	O
to	O
censor	O
posts	O
that	O
contain	O
the	O
phrase	O
"	O
real	O
name	O
registration	O
"	O
or	O
any	O
related	O
terms	O
on	O
its	O
services	O
from	O
March	O
19	O
,	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
Big	O
V	O
"	O
is	O
a	O
microblogger	B-Application
with	O
a	O
substantial	O
following	O
and	O
a	O
verified	O
account	O
such	O
as	O
Kong	O
Qingdong	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
standardizing	O
the	O
microblog	B-Application
service	O
and	O
its	O
development	O
and	O
management	O
,	O
maintaining	O
the	O
order	O
of	O
online	O
communication	O
,	O
ensuring	O
information	O
securities	O
,	O
protecting	O
the	O
legitimate	O
interest	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
information	O
services	O
sites	O
and	O
the	O
microblog	B-Application
users	O
,	O
satisfying	O
the	O
public	O
's	O
needs	O
to	O
Internet	O
information	O
,	O
and	O
promoting	O
well-ordered	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
this	O
regulation	O
referred	O
to	O
the	O
actual	O
situation	O
of	O
the	O
city	O
and	O
is	O
enacted	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
Telecommunications	O
Regulations	O
of	O
the	O
People	O
's	O
Republic	O
of	O
China	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
Measures	O
for	O
the	O
Administration	O
of	O
Internet	O
Information	O
Services	O
"	O
and	O
other	O
laws	O
,	O
legislations	O
,	O
and	O
regulations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
website	O
firms	O
developing	O
microblog	B-Application
services	O
within	O
the	O
city	O
's	O
administrative	O
area	O
and	O
all	O
their	O
microblog	B-Application
users	O
ought	O
to	O
comply	O
with	O
this	O
regulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
microblog	B-Application
development	O
and	O
management	O
adheres	O
to	O
the	O
principles	O
of	O
positive	O
utilization	O
,	O
practical	O
development	O
,	O
rightful	O
administration	O
,	O
and	O
security	O
guarantee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
positive	O
impact	O
on	O
promoting	O
microblog	B-Application
construction	O
and	O
use	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
service	O
to	O
the	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
of	O
microblog	B-Application
services	O
must	O
comply	O
with	O
the	O
constitution	O
,	O
laws	O
,	O
legislations	O
,	O
and	O
regulations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
rights	O
reserved	O
to	O
the	O
municipal	O
government	O
of	O
Beijing	O
to	O
enact	O
plans	O
for	O
microblog	B-Application
service	O
and	O
development	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
enact	O
regulations	O
on	O
the	O
total	O
amount	O
,	O
structure	O
and	O
layout	O
of	O
the	O
microblog	B-Application
service	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
microblog	B-Application
service	O
sites	O
within	O
the	O
city	O
's	O
administration	O
area	O
must	O
rightfully	O
ask	O
for	O
permission	O
from	O
the	O
department	O
that	O
is	O
in	O
charge	O
of	O
Internet	O
information	O
content	O
before	O
applying	O
for	O
a	O
telecommunications	O
business	O
license	O
or	O
performing	O
non-operational	O
Internet	O
information	O
services	O
filing	O
procedures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
microblog	B-Application
service	O
sites	O
must	O
comply	O
with	O
relevant	O
laws	O
,	O
legislations	O
,	O
regulations	O
and	O
the	O
following	O
rules	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
1	O
)	O
Establishing	O
and	O
improving	O
administrative	O
regulations	O
for	O
microblog	B-Application
information	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
2	O
)	O
Determining	O
the	O
agency	O
responsible	O
for	O
information	O
security	O
,	O
and	O
equipping	O
with	O
appropriate	O
personnel	O
with	O
professional	O
knowledge	O
and	O
skills	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
users	O
and	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
information	O
on	O
microblogging	B-Application
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
7	O
)	O
Must	O
not	O
create	O
fake	O
microblog	B-Application
user	O
accounts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
microblog	B-Application
service	O
sites	O
must	O
establish	O
and	O
improve	O
censorship	O
regulations	O
on	O
information	O
content	O
,	O
and	O
regulate	O
the	O
creation	O
,	O
copy	O
,	O
publish	O
and	O
transmit	O
of	O
content	O
on	O
microblogging	B-Application
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
group	O
or	O
person	O
who	O
registers	O
a	O
microblog	B-Application
account	O
and	O
create	O
,	O
duplicate	O
,	O
publish	O
or	O
transmit	O
information	O
must	O
use	O
real	O
identification	O
information	O
;	O
must	O
not	O
use	O
fake	O
or	O
others’	O
residence	O
identification	O
information	O
,	O
business	O
registration	O
information	O
or	O
organization	O
code	O
information	O
to	O
register	O
a	O
microblog	B-Application
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microblog	B-Application
service	O
sites	O
must	O
ensure	O
the	O
authenticity	O
of	O
registered	O
users’	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
organization	O
or	O
person	O
must	O
not	O
unlawfully	O
use	O
microblog	B-Application
to	O
create	O
,	O
duplicate	O
,	O
publish	O
or	O
transmit	O
information	O
containing	O
any	O
content	O
that	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
11.The	O
news	O
administrative	O
department	O
of	O
the	O
municipal	O
people	O
's	O
government	O
,	O
the	O
municipal	O
public	O
security	O
bureau	O
,	O
the	O
municipal	O
department	O
of	O
telecommunication	O
administration	O
and	O
the	O
municipal	O
department	O
of	O
Internet	O
information	O
content	O
must	O
work	O
on	O
microblog	B-Application
development	O
and	O
administration	O
in	O
accordance	O
with	O
their	O
respective	O
responsibilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Association	O
of	O
Online	O
Media	O
,	O
the	O
Internet	O
Industry	O
Association	O
,	O
the	O
Communication	O
Industry	O
Association	O
and	O
other	O
industry	O
organizations	O
must	O
establish	O
and	O
improve	O
the	O
self-regulation	O
in	O
the	O
microblog	B-Application
industry	O
,	O
guide	O
the	O
establishment	O
and	O
improvement	O
of	O
microblog	B-Application
service	O
regulations	O
,	O
and	O
train	O
and	O
educate	O
the	O
websites’	O
employees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
microblog	B-Application
users	O
and	O
microblog	B-Application
service	O
sites	O
who	O
violate	O
this	O
regulation	O
,	O
the	O
news	O
administrative	O
department	O
of	O
the	O
municipal	O
people	O
's	O
government	O
,	O
the	O
municipal	O
public	O
security	O
bureau	O
,	O
the	O
municipal	O
department	O
of	O
telecommunication	O
administration	O
and	O
the	O
municipal	O
department	O
of	O
Internet	O
information	O
content	O
must	O
handle	O
it	O
in	O
accordance	O
to	O
the	O
law	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microblog	B-Application
service	O
sites	O
that	O
opened	O
before	O
the	O
publication	O
of	O
this	O
regulation	O
must	O
,	O
within	O
three	O
months	O
from	O
the	O
date	O
of	O
publication	O
of	O
this	O
regulation	O
,	O
apply	O
for	O
relevant	O
formalities	O
at	O
the	O
municipal	O
department	O
that	O
is	O
in	O
charge	O
of	O
Internet	O
information	O
content	O
,	O
and	O
regulates	O
the	O
existing	O
microblog	B-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ai	O
Wei-wei	O
,	O
a	O
well-known	O
Chinese	O
artist	O
and	O
activist	O
,	O
who	O
has	O
been	O
arrested	O
and	O
controlled	O
by	O
the	O
Chinese	O
government	O
,	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
active	O
Chinese	O
microbloggers	B-Application
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
strict	O
Internet	O
censorship	O
policy	O
on	O
microblogging	B-Application
enacted	O
by	O
the	O
CPC	O
government	O
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
Chinese	O
microbloggers	B-Application
choose	O
to	O
make	O
posts	O
that	O
contain	O
"	O
sensitive	O
contents	O
"	O
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Twitter	B-Application
has	O
been	O
blocked	B-Application
in	O
China	O
since	O
2009	O
,	O
most	O
Twitter	B-Application
users	O
who	O
reside	O
in	O
China	O
can	O
access	O
the	O
Twitter	B-Application
website	O
using	O
a	O
proxy	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
information	O
can	O
be	O
found	O
on	O
List	O
of	O
websites	O
blocked	B-Application
in	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twitter	B-Application
users	O
include	O
Chinese	O
nationals	O
,	O
who	O
participated	O
in	O
,	O
or	O
led	O
,	O
the	O
Chinese	O
democracy	O
movement	O
that	O
took	O
place	O
on	O
June	O
4	O
,	O
1989	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Liu	O
Xiaobo	O
,	O
the	O
2010	O
Nobel	O
Peace	O
Prize	O
winner	O
and	O
a	O
political	O
prisoner	O
in	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Weibo	O
's	O
most	O
significant	O
competition	O
is	O
rival	O
microblogging	B-Application
service	O
,	O
WeChat	O
,	O
as	O
of	O
2014	O
the	O
country	O
's	O
leading	O
messaging	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
