Post date: May 09, 2013 10:16:3 AM
Reuters Business Report - REUTERS VIDEOJOURNALIST, ANITA LI, SAYING:
"China's microbloggers are turning to the White House for help - but not for the problems you might expect.
Photoshopped pictures of President Barack Obama as a famous Song Dynasty official known for being a great judge have been making the rounds on Weibo.
That's as a lot of China microbloggers have been bombarding the White House's petition (website) with very weird requests of all sorts.The last time I checked I saw at least five on the front page.
A lot of people want Obama to weigh in on one of the great Chinese debates: should Tofu soup (be) eaten sweet or savory?
Some others are hoping he'll send over troops to 'liberate' Hong Kong
They might be waiting for a long time.
Few of the petitions are likely to hit the 100,000 signatures needed for a White House response.
All of this was sparked by a more serious case earlier this week calling for the repatriation of a graduate student who was suspected of poisoning her roommate 20 years ago.
Not all the new petitions are tongue in cheek.
Residents of two Chinese cities are using the site to protest the building of chemical plants there.
The U.S. government is often worried about Chinese hackers attacking its networks.
It looks like this week, the microbloggers are making their own mark on the White House.
I'm Anita Li, your China Weibo Watcher."