Twitter restricts account of expert who mocked China leader

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: A New Zealand academic says Twitter temporarily restricted her account after she mocked Chinese President Xi Jinping.

University of Canterbury Professor Anne-Marie Brady is an expert on China's attempts to exert political influence around the world and has been an outspoken critic of its ruling Communist Party. Last week, she sent tweets poking fun at the party's 100th-anniversary celebrations. She said two of those tweets were temporarily marked "unavailable” by Twitter and her account was temporarily restricted over the weekend before it was restored on Monday.