Mark Zuckerberg speaks Chinese. Who knew?
The Facebook founder spoke with students in Chinese at Tsinghua University in Beijing Wednesday.
We knew he was a tech whiz, but who knew he was also a linguist?
Mark Zuckerberg conducted a 30-minute question-and-answer session entirely in Mandarin Chinese with a group of students from Tsinghua University in Beijing on Wednesday. During the session, Mr. Zuckerberg discussed everything from Chinese innovation to why he is studying Chinese.
鈥淗ello everyone. Thanks for coming,鈥� he told the group in Mandarin, . 鈥淚鈥檓 very glad to be in Beijing. I love this city. My Chinese is really a mess, but I study using Chinese every day.鈥�
Though his Mandarin is far from perfect, and supposedly spoken with a Shandong accent,聽his opening statement got a roaring round of applause from students and faculty.
鈥淧erhaps I need practice,鈥� Zuckerberg said jokingly.
Zuckerberg was at the school after joining the advisory council of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management earlier this week.
Zuckerberg's been working on his Chinese for a while. He announced on his Facebook page in 2010 that he was going to begin learning Mandarin as a personal challenge. He聽said learning a language is the best way to learn about another culture, and he wants to learn more about Chinese culture.聽
Zuckerberg is reportedly had lessons in the morning with a tutor,聽.聽His wife, Priscilla Chan, whom he married in 2012, is the daughter of immigrants who spoke Cantonese at home. He said he knows more Mandarin words than his wife, but she has better listening comprehension.聽
鈥淥ne time I asked her, why is my listening comprehension so bad?鈥� Zuckerberg said. 鈥淪he said, 鈥榊our listening comprehension in English is also bad.鈥欌��
In China, Western websites like Google and Twitter are blocked because of the government鈥檚 concerns about the free flow of information. Facebook has been blocked in China since July 2009 when there was a violent riot in China鈥檚 Xingjiang province, where almost 200 people died. During the session, Zuckerberg was asked about the site鈥檚 plans on coming to China.
鈥淲e鈥檙e already in China,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e help Chinese companies increase foreign customers, they use Facebook ads to find more customers.鈥�
Last spring, Facebook signed a three-year lease on an office space in Beijing鈥檚 business district, . Zuckerberg said Facebook has been helping Lenovo advertise in Indonesia, and has worked with some Chinese cities to attract foreign visitors via Facebook.
鈥淲e want to help other places in the world connect to China,鈥� he said.
Zuckerberg wasn't the only tech CEO to make their way to China this week. Apple's CEO Tim Cook met with Chinese vice primer Ma Kai to discuss data privacy. The meeting came two days after Chinese hackers, backed by the government, tried to attack Apple's iCloud.聽
During his trip to China, Mr. Cook went to one of the Foxconn factories in north central China. Apple and Foxconn for poor working conditions and employees working excessive hours.聽
China's first Apple store was opened in 2008, and the country has since become a major market for Apple. During his trip, Cook said, "[I]t鈥檚 just a matter of time [before China] become[s] Apple鈥檚 biggest revenue contributor.鈥�
After Zuckerberg completed his session with students, he reportedly accessed Facebook's website within Chinese borders.
鈥淲hen he finished the Q&A, Zuckerberg scaled China鈥檚 Great Firewall secretly and posted the video of on his Facebook page,鈥� Zhuang Xiaopi, a Weibo user from Fujian, noted on his account, according to the Los Angeles Times.