<p>A social media post by China’s top law enforcement body juxtaposing the country’s successful launch of a module into space with grim cremation pyres in India was deleted after it sparked online criticism in China.</p>.<p>Photos of the Tianhe module launch and its fuel burn-off were compared with what appeared to be a mass outdoor cremation in India, and captioned “China lighting a fire versus India lighting a fire.” The post on Saturday by the Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission on its official Sina Weibo account was accompanied by a hashtag noting that new Covid-19 cases in Indian had surpassed 400,000 a day.</p>.<p>Later that day, it could not longer be found. Many Chinese social media users expressed shock and anger at the insensitivity of the post.</p>.<p>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,” Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Communist Party-backed Global Times newspaper, wrote on Weibo commenting on the deleted post. Hu said such methods were not an appropriate way for official social media accounts to gain traffic.</p>.<p>The Chinese foreign ministry could not be immediately reached for comment during a holiday period.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/india-s-covid-19-crisis-shakes-modi-s-image-of-strength-981609.html" target="_blank">India’s Covid-19 crisis shakes Modi’s image of strength</a></strong></p>.<p>Ties between China and India have been rocky in recent months. A border dispute that killed dozens last year and hurt economic ties between the two nations has fanned nationalistic sentiment in both countries. Tensions remain despite ongoing high-level talks, with India most recently urging early disengagement from all friction points along the border.</p>.<p>That didn’t prevent President Xi Jinping from sending a message of condolence to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and offering to provide assistance to help the South Asian country deal with a fierce surge in Covid-19 cases.</p>.<p>Another deleted post that first appeared Friday compared China’s “fire god mountain” -- the name of the emergency hospital complex built in Wuhan -- with a photo of a mass cremation in India on the official Weibo account of China’s Ministry of Public Security. It too was criticized, with social media users saying it was “morally problematic.”</p>.<p>Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday that the Red Cross Society of China, local governments, non-governmental organizations and Chinese enterprises 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.”</p>
<p>A social media post by China’s top law enforcement body juxtaposing the country’s successful launch of a module into space with grim cremation pyres in India was deleted after it sparked online criticism in China.</p>.<p>Photos of the Tianhe module launch and its fuel burn-off were compared with what appeared to be a mass outdoor cremation in India, and captioned “China lighting a fire versus India lighting a fire.” The post on Saturday by the Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission on its official Sina Weibo account was accompanied by a hashtag noting that new Covid-19 cases in Indian had surpassed 400,000 a day.</p>.<p>Later that day, it could not longer be found. Many Chinese social media users expressed shock and anger at the insensitivity of the post.</p>.<p>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,” Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Communist Party-backed Global Times newspaper, wrote on Weibo commenting on the deleted post. Hu said such methods were not an appropriate way for official social media accounts to gain traffic.</p>.<p>The Chinese foreign ministry could not be immediately reached for comment during a holiday period.</p>.<p><strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/india-s-covid-19-crisis-shakes-modi-s-image-of-strength-981609.html" target="_blank">India’s Covid-19 crisis shakes Modi’s image of strength</a></strong></p>.<p>Ties between China and India have been rocky in recent months. A border dispute that killed dozens last year and hurt economic ties between the two nations has fanned nationalistic sentiment in both countries. Tensions remain despite ongoing high-level talks, with India most recently urging early disengagement from all friction points along the border.</p>.<p>That didn’t prevent President Xi Jinping from sending a message of condolence to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and offering to provide assistance to help the South Asian country deal with a fierce surge in Covid-19 cases.</p>.<p>Another deleted post that first appeared Friday compared China’s “fire god mountain” -- the name of the emergency hospital complex built in Wuhan -- with a photo of a mass cremation in India on the official Weibo account of China’s Ministry of Public Security. It too was criticized, with social media users saying it was “morally problematic.”</p>.<p>Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday that the Red Cross Society of China, local governments, non-governmental organizations and Chinese enterprises 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.”</p>