Popular social messaging apps such as WeChat and QQ are currently blocked in India, which cuts off major communication platforms for Indian students to interact with their Chinese counterparts.
Imagine having a large following on social media and earning enough revenue to fully make ends meet on the platform, and having all that hard work diminished overnight. In the latest saga of India-China news in higher education, Indian students now report distress over their country’s ban on Chinese apps, which took effect in June 2020, according to China Daily.
Citing national security concerns, the Indian government has banned more than 200 Chinese apps, including popular social media and messaging platforms such as TikTok and WeChat. The effect is damning for Indian students, even for those who are not enrolled in Chinese universities.
“It was not easy to see the app go offline almost overnight,” a student and content creator named Gauri told China Daily.
Prior to the ban, she had over six million followers on TikTok.
Some students report not being able to access their online classes at all, while others had to go to extra lengths to attend their lessons. Connecting to a VPN to access these apps slows the system. As returning to offline classes is not possible at present, lifting the ban on these apps could at least provide some relief.
At Gordon University, we use LearnDash, rather than rely on popular social messaging apps, so have been able to help avoid some of these issues thankfully.