Xi Jinping’s visit to India received a lot of attention. In China, the media covered Xi’s visit except for one welcome ceremony when two thousand Indian students wore Xi Jinping face masks. On October 11, Xi Jinping went to Chennai to meet with Indian Prime Minister Modi. During the welcoming ceremony, two thousand local students wore face masks with Xi Jinping’s picture on it while they formed Xi Jinping’s name in Chinese characters. Even though it was such a grand welcoming ceremony, China’s official media did not mention the scene. One of the reasons could be related to Hong Kong’s facial mask law. The Hong Kong authorities have put forth an effort to ban facial masks and people wearing masks are the image of Hong Kong protestors. The Indian students wearing a mask that had the image of Xi Jinping smiling on it might not go over well given the current circumstances in Hong Kong.
It was not easy for Xi Jinping to visit India. China and India have differences: a long-standing unresolved border issue, as well as Kashmir’s territorial disputes, and China’s close ties with Pakistan who is an enemy of India. This is the second time that Xi Jinping and Modi have met. The location was Chennai. Their talk avoided Kashmir and the atmosphere of the talks was still peaceful. Modi even said that the India-China relationship has begun a “new era.”
Source: Radio France Internationale, October 13, 2019
http://rfi.my/4f7U