Physicist Stephen Hawking opened on Tuesday an account on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter. The popular scientist got more than 1 million followers in a few hours.
The author of popular science books such as “A Brief History of Time,” Hawking is currently linked with a search for alien life with Russian billionaire Yuri Milner who funded the $100-million Breakthrough Starshot initiative that the two announced on the same day, reported China Daily.
Hawking recalled his 2006 visit to China in his first post to take part in a physics conference in Beijing. He wrote, “I was an extraordinary experience. My first trip was in 1985 when I travelled across your remarkable country by train. In my physical travels, I have only been able to touch the surface of your fascinating history and culture.”
Besides getting 1 million followers within six hours of opening a Weibo account, Hawking’s message was forwarded around 200,000 times and elicited more than 314,000 comments, reported Global Times.
The account was registered on March 23 and managed by the physicist’s team, in cooperation with Stradella Road, a marketing and branding company based in Hollywood.
Explaining the surge of followers that normally Weibo users give to show business personalities, Communications University of China Professor Steven Dong said, “Hawking’s popularity shows the Chinese people’s great enthusiasm for science, especially among the young generation, which is inspiring for the country’s future.”
Dong added, “The world’s leading scientists cannot give up on communicating with a country that has one-fourth of the world’s population and increasing influence.”
Many of Hawking’s followers wrote messages to the physicist, but he has not replied to any comment yet.