Twitter to launch Chinese language site despite ban

Twitter co-founder of the site Jack Dorsey said at a panel that Twitter is "hard at work" on allowing users to register in Chinese. Dorsey was responding to a question from Chinese avant garde artist Ai Weiwei.

Ai has been an outspoken critic of Chinese authorities and their continuing efforts to impose censorship. He said he spends about eight hours a day on Twitter.

"I need a clear answer, yes or no?" he said to Dorsey, who joined the conversation via satellite.

"Yes, it's just a matter of time," Dorsey responded, citing limited staff and technical constraints as challenges for setting up the Chinese registration page.

 Dorsey, Ai and Richard MacManus, founder of technology blog ReadWriteWeb, were part of a discussion on digital activism at the Paley Center for Media. People from all over the world also participated via Twitter, with their tweets displayed on a large screen behind the panelists.

 Ai said he wants Chinese translation on Twitter so users who are able to get past the firewall can read tweets.

 Dorsey said he has no idea how Twitter would get around the firewall. He admitted he didn't know the site was blocked in the country until three weeks ago when he was prepping for the event.

 When asked whether he would give user information to the Chinese government, he said he hoped the company could work with the US government to make sure that doesn't happen.

"Step one is translation, getting the site accessible in a Chinese version," said Dorsey. "That's something the company is really pushing to do."

But moving into the country is something "that's very difficult to do," he said.

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