New PLA Weibo gains popularity

Chinese People's Liberation Army Rocket Force's two official Weibo accounts, created on February 14, 2019, have published their first posts on the Lantern Festival, February 19, 2019.

Two official Weibo accounts created by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Rocket Force. The left shares its name with the force itself, while the right is named "Dongfeng Kuaidi," or "Eastwind Delivery." [Screenshot by Chinaplus]

Already followed by tens-of-thousands, this marks the first time the PLA Rocket Force has 'gone public.' Due to the air of mystery surrounding the division of the People's Liberation Army, the Rocket Force's presence on a social media platform comes as somewhat of a surprise. One account is simply named "PLA Rocket Force." As the Rocket Force's main combat equipment is the Dongfeng series missiles, the other account is named "Dongfeng Kuaidi," or "Eastwind Delivery." Speculation is the former will be used to publish official and formal news, while the latter will be for communicating and interacting more directly with the public.

The first post of "Dongfeng Kuaidi" on February 19, 2019. The slogan on the picture reads: "Eastwind Delivery, mission must be completed." [Screenshot by Chinaplus]

The initial post on the "PLA Rocket Force" Weibo account includes the new version of the Rocket Force's publicity film, which shows diversified missile launch vehicles, various models of rockets and pictures of previous exercises and launches. The post published by "Dongfeng Kuaidi" is more down-to-earth, simply declaring the account is in use in a way that netizens in China are familiar with.

Screen grab of a publicity film published on the "PLA Rocket Force" Weibo account, February 19, 2019. [Screenshot by Chinaplus]

Once published, the two accounts began receiving thousands of followers, including from hundreds of certified official accounts. The debut posts have been retweeted more than 20,000 times. The "PLA Rocket Force" had 330k followers as of Tuesday afternoon, while, "Dongfeng Kuaidi" had some 500k followers. The follower numbers continue to surge up.