The Monterey Park Police Department is announcing the use of Sina Weibo, a Chinese-language microblogging website, in an ongoing effort to improve outreach to the Chinese community.
The Monterey Park Police Department’s userpage can be found at http://weibo.com/mppd. (Please view the attached PDF for the username in Chinese characters.)
Sina Weibo (Weibo) is a Chinese micro-blogging website akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook. One of the most popular sites in China, as of December 2012 it had 503 million registered users. As of 2015, the site had over 285 million visits per month and ranked #10 among social networking websites. The app is available on iPhone and Android phones. Users can also access Weibo on their desktop computers.
The Monterey Park Police Department will use the platform to communicate with Chinese language users in Monterey Park and the San Gabriel Valley. Weibo is not restricted to Southern California and can be directly accessed from anywhere in the world. The launch of Weibo will enable the Monterey Park Police Department to reach a younger and growing population that relies heavily on smartphones and mobile apps for a source of information. By using Weibo, the Monterey Park Police Department will be able to educate and help residents in their native language.
Monterey Park Police Department believes that the Chinese community is eager to obtain information relating to police and law enforcement activities occurring close to where they live in Monterey Park and the San Gabriel Valley.
Sixty-seven percent of the Monterey Park population is of Asian descent, predominately of Chinese descent. Many of these are recent immigrants and remain connected through online news and social media outlets such as Weibo while living in the United States. In addition to Weibo, the Monterey Park Police Department also maintains Nixle and Twitter social media accounts.
Media Contact
Sergeant Gus Jimenez, Monterey Park Police Department
gjimenez@montereypark.ca.gov
626-307-1242
www.MontereyPark.ca.gov
