Image Source: Wall Street Journal

PM Modi�s Weibo account goes blank in China; profile photo, posts taken down

| New Delhi |

Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s Twitter-like Weibo account in China went blank on Wednesday after his photo, posts and comments were removed from the handle.
The removal of all information from Modi�s Weibo comes 10 days after at least three official Indian statements � including the PM�s � were deleted from the Indian embassy�s official account on the popular social media app, WeChat.
It could not be immediately ascertained when Modi�s Weibo handle was taken down but on Wednesday, the page was blank.
It also comes in the backdrop of India banning 59 Chinese apps on Monday because of security and data breach concerns.
On Wednesday, all information from Modi�s account � including his profile photo � were taken down.
Modi�s Weibo account was set up in 2015 amid much fanfare and publicity before his first visit to China as prime minister.
Since then the account had 244000 followers, many of them Chinese.
Since 2015, but barring this year, Modi had wished President Xi Jinping ahead of his birthday on June 15.
He also published messages on Sino-India ties especially after meetings with Xi.
Modi�s posts on Weibo were in Chinese.
The sudden taking down of Modi�s Weibo account and removal of the Indian government�s posts on Chinese social media come in the backdrop of the violent face-off, and ongoing tension, between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh�s Galwan Valley region.