Prime Minister Modi Shuts Weibo Account After China App Ban

PM Modi has been an infrequent user of the Chinese social media platform.

By Reuters | Updated: 2 July 2020 17:44 IST

Prime Minister Modi Shuts Weibo Account After China App Ban

Photo Credit: Reuters/ Altaf Hussain

The Indian embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment

Highlights

PM Modi posted on Sina Weibo for the first time in 2015
He had more than 200,000 followers and 100 posts
The account was shut after a request from the Indian embassy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deleted his account on Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, an Indian government source and the company said, as tensions between the two countries continue to simmer over a border skirmish.

Since posting on Sina Weibo the first time in 2015 during a visit to China, PM Modi has been an infrequent user of the Chinese social media platform. He had more than 200,000 followers and 100 posts before the account was shut.

Sina Weibo announced the closure of the account late on Wednesday and the removal comes a few days after India banned dozens of Chinese apps, including Sina Weibo and ByteDance's TikTok, following the border clash between the two nations.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

An Indian government source told Reuters on Thursday that it took time to get PM Modi's account taken down.

"For VIP accounts, Weibo has a more complex procedure to quit which is why the official process was initiated. For reasons best known to the Chinese, there was great delay in granting this basic permission," the source said.

India lost 20 soldiers in the clash last month at the disputed Himalayan border in what it said was a premeditated attack by Chinese troops. Beijing rejected the allegations and blamed frontline Indian troops for crossing into its side of undemarcated border.

India TikTok Ban Threatens China’s Rise as Global Tech Power

PM Modi was among a handful of foreign leaders with a Weibo account.

Notably, PM Modi revealed the birth dates of both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang by wishing them "Happy Birthday" on Weibo. The birth dates of senior leaders in China are usually not revealed publicly.

Chinese leaders are rarely active on social media. Foreign social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China.

Government Directs ISPs, Telcos to Block Access to 59 Apps

The Indian source said all of PM Modi's posts on Weibo had been deleted except for two showing pictures of him with Xi. "On Weibo, it is difficult to remove posts with the photo of their president," the source said.

WWDC 2020 had a lot of exciting announcements from Apple, but which are the best iOS 14 features for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.