Household names

As a Kuomintang member, in the early years, Chiu became a household name after he uncovered the corruption and embezzlement of many DPP members and was elected by the Taiwan people as a legislator in 2004. He was welcomed by most Taiwanese due to his bravery and great contributions to exposing corruption of now imprisoned former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian and his family.

With a post doctorate in economics from Cornell University, Chiu started communicating with the Chinese mainland government in the 1980s. At that time, he was invited by mainland authorities to give speeches and introduce Western market economic theories to scholars, researchers and officials.

Chiu claims he has good relations with mainland leaders.

In 2010, a publishing house asked Chiu to open a Weibo account to promote his book on management science.

One of the first Taiwan politicians to open a Weibo account on the Chinese mainland, Chiu has become known to Net users as a "red seedling" politician who vigorously advocates reunification of the mainland and Taiwan.

Most recently, he wrote a post slamming mainland people who accept support from the Western world and who attack the authorities on the Internet as traitors. He also claimed that he loved to watch TV dramas featuring Chinese people fighting against the invaders during the anti-Japanese war.

Most mainland Net users hailed him as a patriot, while others criticized him as "being bought off" by the mainland authorities.

"I am a nationalist. I am never afraid of saying it. Wherever I go, I will say I am a Chinese," Chiu said.

Chiu insisted that he represents the inner feelings of the majority of Taiwanese.

"Because nowadays, people back in Taiwan daren't say out loud that they're Chinese, in order to avoid trouble. That's how we have created space for the magnification of the voices of independence."

Chiu often posts on a variety of topics from international relations and social incidents to art and music.

Instead of making comments on certain critical social issues, Chiu has been taking action to supervise mainland authorities.

When the government of Nanjing planned to remove 600 plane trees to make way for subway construction in March 2011, Chiu filed a formal complaint to the Nanjing government, calling for them to be protected. He also sent a large number of Weibo posts calling on the public to stand up and protect the environment.

Eventually, local authorities decided to protect over 600 plane trees along Zhongshan Road, a move that was hailed by local residents.

Chiu's proposals have contrasted with those of public opinion leaders active on Weibo who promote the concepts of freedom and democracy. Chiu complained that he has been attacked by public intellectuals, but he said he "would never retreat from the public opinion manor."