No 'Great Firewall' issue as Trump keeps tweeting in Beijing
BEIJINGUS President Donald Trump went around and over the "Great Firewall" of China in a late-night tweet in Beijing as he thanked his hosts for a rare tour of the Forbidden City and a private dinner at the sprawling, centuries-old palace complex.
Many Western social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are banned in China.
A sophisticated system has been built to deny netizens within China access to blocked content.
That was not an issue for Mr Trump, known for tweeting to his 42.3 million followers at any hour of the day, on Wednesday, the day he arrived in Beijing.
"On behalf of @FLOTUS Melania and I, THANK YOU for an unforgettable afternoon and evening at the Forbidden City in Beijing, President Xi and Madame Peng Liyuan. We are looking forward to rejoining you tomorrow morning!"
BANNER
Mr Trump even changed his Twitter banner to that of a photograph of himself and Melania with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, during a Chinese opera performance at the Forbidden City.
The Twitter banner upload did not go unnoticed by Chinese media, with state broadcaster CCTV flashing screenshots of the photograph yesterday.
Many people wondered how Mr Trump managed to evade China's tough Internet controls.
"I guess he must have done it via Wi-fi on a satellite network," said a user on Weibo. - REUTERS
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