BBC: Backlash after China Weibo post mocks India Covid crisis

A social media post from an account linked to the Chinese Communist Party has sparked controversy for appearing to mock India over its coronavirus crisis.

The post on Chinese site Weibo showed an image of a rocket launch in China alongside a photo of the bodies of Covid victims being cremated in India.

Text with it read: “Lighting a fire in China VS lighting a fire in India.”

The post, which appeared on Saturday afternoon, has since been deleted.

It was reportedly published by an account belonging to an official Chinese law enforcement agency – the Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission – which has millions of followers on Weibo, a popular microblogging site in the country.

Users responding to the post, which was later shared using screenshots of the original, wrote that it was “inappropriate” and that China “should express sympathy for India”.

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