This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-35368930

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Pro-China posts flood Taiwan President-elect Tsai's Facebook Pro-China posts spam Taiwan President-elect Tsai's Facebook
(about 2 hours later)
The Facebook page of Taiwan's new president-elect Tsai Ing-wen has been flooded with hostile posts, seemingly from mainland China.The Facebook page of Taiwan's new president-elect Tsai Ing-wen has been flooded with hostile posts, seemingly from mainland China.
Tens of thousands of posts demanded that the island be reunified with the mainland, under Beijing's control.Tens of thousands of posts demanded that the island be reunified with the mainland, under Beijing's control.
Meanwhile, China conducted military drills on its coast opposite Taiwan.
Ms Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a landslide victory in presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday.Ms Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a landslide victory in presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday.
The DPP is broadly supportive of independence from China.The DPP is broadly supportive of independence from China.
Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must one day be brought back under mainland control, and is concerned that Taiwan may declare formal independence, although Ms Tsai has not declared herself in favour of such a move. Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must one day be brought back under mainland control.
Ms Tsai brushed off the Facebook campaign: "The greatness of this country lies in how every single person can exercise their rights" she posted on Facebook on Thursday. Her party too said they "respected" those who exercised freedom of speech. It is concerned that Taiwan may declare formal independence although Ms Tsai has not declared herself in favour of such a move.
Access to Facebook and most major Western social media sites is banned in mainland China, but technically savvy users often circumvent the restrictions - an irony not lost on Taiwanese Facebook posters, who sarcastically congratulated the mainland critics on bypassing their censors. 'Love the motherland'
But posters, mostly writing in the simplified Chinese characters used on the mainland, were undeterred: "Why do Taiwanese think we've all been brainwashed? We've all been taught from small that Taiwanese are compatriots, and Taiwan is the jewelled island," wrote one. Ms Tsai brushed off the Facebook campaign on Thursday, saying: "The greatness of this country lies in how every single person can exercise their rights."
Many also have repeatedly spammed her Facebook page with a series of Chinese Communist Party slogans known as the "Eight honours and eight shames", which among other things encourages "love for the motherland". Her party, too, said they "respected" those who exercised freedom of speech.
It is not the first time Ms Tsai has been on the receiving end of a barrage of Facebook posts from across the Taiwan Straight, or the first time she has appeared to welcome it. Most of the posters wrote in the simplified Chinese characters used on the mainland, as opposed to the traditional characters used in Taiwan.
"I hope this rare new experience can let the 'new friend' see a more complete democracy, freedom and pluralism of Taiwan," she wrote during a similar episode in November. Many repeatedly spammed Ms Tsai's Facebook page with a series of Chinese Communist Party slogans known as the "eight honours and eight shames", which among other things encourages "love for the motherland".
Ms Tsai says she wants peaceful relations with China. The island has been self-ruled ever since Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island in 1949 after being defeated by communist forces in the Chinese civil war. Access to Facebook and most major Western social media sites are officially blocked in mainland China - although technologically savvy users often circumvent the restrictions.
It is not clear that the social media campaign will have the effect the posters hope. The reaction to a Taiwanese member of a South Korean pop band reading out a profuse apology to mainland China for showing a Taiwanese flag during a variety show, was credited with boosting support for the DPP in the elections. The irony was not lost on Taiwanese Facebook posters, who sarcastically congratulated the mainland critics on bypassing the firewall.
Observers say the comments appear to be part of a campaign organised from China although it is not clear by whom.
Chinese officials have been known to pay online commentators to post opinions supportive of government policies. Some experts have estimated that China employs about 250,000 "paid commenters".
'Live-fire'
China said it had carried out live-fire landing drills at its base in Xiamen, near the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen, "in recent days".
The drills involved the use of long-range rockets and amphibious tanks, Chinese state TV said, without giving more details.
Steve Lin, an official from Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which manages the island's affairs with China, described the drills as "very bad news".
"We'll raise our military deployment, and at the same time we'll deal with it via reasonable dialogue with the Chinese side," he said in quotes carried by Reuters news agency.
Ms Tsai says she wants peaceful relations with China. The island has ruled itself since Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled there in 1949 after being defeated by Communist forces in the civil war.