Amid the outpour of support from across the globe for India’s degrading public health situation, China posted a picture on Twitter mocking the country. However, it was taken down after it gave rise to outrage from the Chinese social media users who called it immoral.
The social media post was made by the top law enforcement body of China comparing the nation’s successful launch of a module into space to India’s deadly situation. The agency tweeted a picture of the launch with a juxtaposed image of the cremation pyres of India.
If the comparison picture of the Tianhe module launch and the Indian mass outdoor cremation wasn’t enough, the Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission went ahead to caption it saying, “China lighting a fire versus India lighting a fire.” The post was made from the body’s official Sina Weibo account, which also included hashtags mentioning the current covid cases scenario of India passing the 4 lakh mark each day.
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However, it was deleted in the latter half of the day after the post sparked heavy criticism from Chinese social media users. They expressed shock and anger over the insensitivity of the same and called it out.
Responding to a request for comment on the post, the Chinese foreign ministry said, “We hope everyone gives attention to the Chinese government and mainstream public opinion supporting India’s fight against the epidemic.” Aid for India in the form of more supplies are going to be sent in the days to come as a reflection China’s support to the nation via practical methods, the ministry added.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Communist Party-backed Global Times newspaper, wrote on Weibo saying official social media accounts should “hold high the banner of humanitarianism at this time, show sympathy for India, and firmly place Chinese society on a moral high ground,” referring to the now-deleted tweet. He further stressed that these tactics weren’t a way for official accounts to attract users and get traffic on social media.
What’s On Weibo’s editor-in-chief Manya Koetse said that the tweet perhaps did not have the required permission from authorities or else it wouldn’t have been taken down so fast. She added saying, “I don’t think we can expect a clarification from the Party account in question.”
China and India have continued to remain on bad terms with each other following the Galwan valley dispute that ended in the death of many soldiers of both parties. The rocky ties couldn’t be solved despite high-level authorities holding talks to bring down the intensity of the tense situation.
Nevertheless, Chinese President Xi Jinping offered a word of condolence to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with provisions to help in India’s battle with the fatal virus that has taken a toll on the nation.
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On Friday, the same day when Mr Jinping sent his message, China had posted another tweet comparing China’s “fire god mountain” to an image of the mass cremation pyres of India. “Fire god mountain” is also the name of an emergency hospital in Wuhan. The post made by China’s Ministry of Public Security on the official Weibo account was deleted later following criticism from social media users as they termed it “morally problematic”.
Red Cross Society of China, non-governmental organizations, Chinese firms and local governments of the country are “trying their best to collect the anti-epidemic supplies urgently needed by India, and deliver them to the Indian people as soon as possible,” spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin said on Friday.