Maverick official's blogs give life to 'zombie' accounts

When a vice-governor of Guizhou province called domestic critics "human scumbags" on a popular Chinese micro-blogging platform this week, he immediately drew the fury of Internet users who demanded an apology for his gaffe.

In a heated exchange with other Web users on violence in China and the United States, Vice-Governor Chen Mingming also wrote that "unpatriotic" people should have plastic surgery so they won't be recognized as Chinese and should "go to the US - the faster the better!"

But despite harsh public criticism, the Chinese "micro terror" - during which public figures dropping controversial remarks are often judged and shamed to the cheers of netizens - didn't befall the senior official. Instead, many have called for tolerance and forgiveness for Chen's courage to engage in a public debate and speak his mind, which is something rare in China's ethereal world where official micro-blogging is better known for its pomp and inactivity.