23,000 Indian students appeal to Chinese FM Wang Yi to 'take them back to China'
Worried about their studies, the Indian students are running two hashtags on the social media platforms to draw the Chinese administration's attention amidst their foreign minister Wang Yi in New Delhi, who has come unannounced to hold talks with his Indian counterpart and the NSA.
Worried about their studies, the Indian students are running two hashtags on the social media platforms to draw the Chinese administration's attention amidst their foreign minister Wang Yi in New Delhi, who has come unannounced to hold talks with his Indian counterpart and the NSA.
More than 23,000 students are stuck in parts of the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic and these students who mostly study medicine in the Chinese Universities have been demanding resuming of visas and classes.
As per the reports, China has permitted foreign students from several countries, including Pakistan, Thailand and Solomon Island to rejoin their studies.
Through their two hashtags that have gone viral -- #FMWangYiSaveIndianStudents and #takeUsBackToChina -- the students are expressing their plight that has emerged in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. They have been saying that practical knowledge is a must in medical courses but nothing is being done.
These students have also written to the Chinese administration and the Indian foreign ministry in this regard.
Highlights of students' letter to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi:
1. No visa for students from March 2020 (almost 20 months) leading to loss of practical knowledge and internship which is core in the medical field.
2. Financially unstable students, who took education loans to make their future better, suffer a great loss economically as they have to pay full fees but their education & clinical experience suffered a great loss.
3. We have a five-year course of medicine out of which two important years of practicals and interaction with teachers, this is a big loss to our course as well as we have fear of getting our degrees invalid because of less practical sessions.
"So, we request you to start the return of the students from India as well, like some of the other students of several other countries. Give us an exact date of return, don't leave us in loops of uncertainty," Rachita Kurmi, a student at Shandong University said.
Wang Yi's India visit
Amidst the border standoff continuing in eastern Ladakh since May 2020, New Delhi and Beijing have stepped up their diplomatic engagement to resolve the tensions.
In this regard, Wang Yi arrived in New Delhi for the first time since the standoff began 22 months back.
The standoff had even led to a violent faceoff in the Galwan Valley, wherein 20 Indian troops were killed in June 2020. The two sides are expected to discuss the issues like border standoff at multiple locations and also the issue of resuming patrolling at Depsang and other areas.
Ukraine and Afghanistan are other areas that could be discussed during his meeting his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.