How influential can social media users be in China?

China is known to monitor social media, but in the wake of a rapid government response to a fake-vaccine crisis, when does ‘monitoring social media users’ become ‘listening to social media users’?

China‘s latest vaccine scandal has stirred a lively debate on social media – in spite of strict censorship.

The country’s second-largest maker of rabies vaccines was found to have violated regulations while producing a quarter of a million doses for children.

The government swung quickly into action even before the story was reported on state-controlled media.

So, is social media now influencing the government’s decision making?

Al Jazeera’s Adrian Brown reports.

By Adrian Brown