Social-Media
Indian PM Modi shuts Weibo after Chinese apps have been prohibited
Modi has been a rare user of the Chinese social media platform since he first posted on Sina Weibo in 2015 during a visit to China. Before the account was shut down it had over 200,000 followers and 100 posts.
On Wednesday, Sina Weibo announced that the account had been closed, and the removal took place some days since India had banned dozens of Chinese apps, including Sina Weibo and ByteDance's TikTok.
On Thursday, an Indian government source told Reuters it took time to take Modi into account.
"Weibo has a more complicated procedure to quit for VIP accounts, which is why the official process has begun. For reasons known more to the Chinese, this fundamental permission was delayed, "said the source.
In the clash between India and China, India lost 20 soldiers at its contested Himalayan border last month. Beijing has rejected the allegations of crossing its undemarked side by Indian frontline troops.
Modi was one of a handful of weibo account foreign leaders.
He revealed, in particular by wishing them "Happy Birthdays" at Weibo, two dates of the birth of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
The date of birth of Chinese leaders is usually not publicly disclosed.
Chinese leaders in social media are rarely active. Foreign social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter in China are being blocked.
The Indian source says that all of Modi's Weibo posts were removed except for two pictures showing him with Xi. "On Weibo, the photo of its president makes it difficult to remove posts," said the source.
