(Telecompaper) Twitter is opening an office in Hong Kong next year to serve greater China and to take advantage of the rising amount of advertising revenues coming from Chinese companies, Twitter VP for Asia Pacific Shailesh Rao told the Wall Street Journal. Rao said the new office, set to open in the first quarter, will mainly house sales staff and focus on sales. Twitter wants the office to build sales capabilities to work with domestic agencies and advertisers in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and with Chinese advertisers looking to go global. The company has been blocked in China since 2009 due to government concerns it could be used to organise protests. Asked if plans for the Hong Kong office signaled greater ones to enter China should the government lift its restriction, Rao said that while Twitter would love to be present in the country, the choice was not in their control.