Microblogging in China The website's layout, API, and mode of use was highly similar to Twitter, which was created earlier in 2006. Fanfou's users increased from 0.3 million to 1 million in the first half of 2009. The users included HP China, the "Southern Weekly", artist Ai Weiwei, writer Lian Yue () and TV commentator Liang Wendao (). Some other weibo services, such as Jiwai, Digu, Zuosa and Tencent's Taotao were launched in 2006-2009. After the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, the CPC government shut down most of the domestic weibo services, including Fanfou and Jiwai. Many popular non China-based microblogging services such as
Sina Weibo might not always be in favor of government officials, many Chinese officials opened Weibo accounts as to give their own version of events. On 16 March 2012, all the Beijing users of Sina Weibo were told to register with their real names. From 31 March 2012, the comment function of Sina Weibo was shut down for three days, along with Tencent QQ. In May 2012, Sina Weibo introduced new restrictions on the content its 300 million users can post. An example of Sina Weibo's censorship and manipulation of discussion or public social activity was the blocking of Foxconn workers' strikes