Chinese netizens welcome Obama's visit with thousands of questions

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-14 17:31

BEIJING: Chinese netizens have prepared thousands of questions for US President Barack Obama during his November 15-18 visit to China, covering a wide range of topics from Sino-US relations to US first lady Michelle Obama.

A special forum of collecting questions from Chinese netizens to ask Obama was opened Friday morning by Xinhuanet, the online news service of Xinhua News Agency.

Obama is scheduled to have an exchange activity with Chinese youth on November 16 in Shanghai, during which he will pick up some of the netizens' questions to answer, according to Xinhuanet authorities.

"Why does US always ask for appreciation of the Renminbi?"one netizen asked.

Chinese netizens showed their concerns over Sino-US relations by asking hundreds of relative and serious questions, such as "how Obama thinks of Sino-US cooperation in combating global financial crisis; why US keeps imposing high import duties on some products from China; will you sell weapons to Taiwan?"

Chinese netizens seemed quite interested in Obama's personal and family life, raising questions such as how Obama keeps fit and whether Obama allows his children to play games.

"Do you have a Facebook account? May I add you as a friend?" a netizen asked.

Mrs Obama was also targeted. One netizen called "Women love perfection" said, "The first lady has so many beautiful clothes, including those she wore during the president's inauguration ceremony and visits to foreign countries. Are they paid by the US government or by yourself?"

Whether Obama likes the well-known Chinese dish Kung Pao Chicken and whether he can use chopsticks are also on the question list.

"How much wine can you drink for once? Will you play the Truth or Dare game after drinking?" another netizen asked.

More than 2,000 questions have been raised by Chinese netizens in the first 13 opening hours of the forum. It would be closed on Saturday noon.