US police all a-twitter about Weibo

Law enforcement officers are using social media to engage with the local Chinese community, as Zhang Yuchen reports.

When the police department of Alhambra, California, announced that it was opening an account with Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, on Dec 9, the aim was to reach out to the Chinese community and encourage greater cross-cultural engagement.

Although a number of foreign official and cultural organizations and celebrities have already used Weibo to promote cultural and civic ties, it's the first time a foreign police department has set up an account on China's largest social network, which has millions of active users worldwide. The target group is the tech-savvy younger generation of Chinese immigrants, aged 24 to 36.