Twitter's appointment of new chief in China incenses rights activists

Kathy Chen criticised by pro-democracy activists for her government and military background as she joins social media site still blocked by Beijing

China's Communist party-controlled media has criticised "narrow-minded" and "prejudiced" online activists who are questioning Twitter's decision to appoint as its first regional chief a former member of the People's Liberation Army who once had ties to the country's security services.

Kathy Chen - a former Microsoft manager whose Twitter handle describes her as a "curious explorer" - was named as the social network's managing director for mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan last week.