Microblogging in China Microblogging in China Weibo (微博) is the Chinese word for "microblog". It refers to mini-blogging services in China, including social chat sites and platform sharing. Weibo uses a format similar to its American counterpart Twitter, but used almost exclusively by Chinese language speakers; this has a direct impact on features such as hashtags on Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo, which both employ a double-hashtag "#HashName#" method, since the lack of spacing between Chinese characters necessitates a closing tag. Internet users can set up real-time information sharing communities individually, and upload and update information in 140 character blocks. A major difference
Microblogging in China The "Real Name" policy requires all users on Chinese weibos to register with the name on their government issued ID card. However, the username that shows on their homepage doesn’t have to be their real legal name. The Real Name Policy would assist the government in controlling speech and communication on the Internet, and would facilitate Internet censorship. Although the regulation was supposed to take effect on March 16, 2012, the policy was not implemented. Many weibo users complained about this policy, and Sina Weibo started to censor posts that contain the phrase "real name registration" or any related terms