Ahead Of Xi's Arrival, Tamil Twitter Trends #GoBackModi In Chinese

Aly Song / Reuters

China's President Xi Jinping and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive for a signing ceremony during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China June 10, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song

It’s become par for course for #GoBackModi to trend on Twitter every time the Prime Minister is anywhere near Tamil Nadu .

This time Tamil Twitter has taken it up a notch, trending the same thing in Chinese, # , as the state prepares for the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping .

PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping will be at Mahabalipuram, starting Friday, for a two-day informal summit, their second since the Wuhan summit in 2018.

While tweets welcomed Xi Jinping, they were not so hospitable to Modi.

As of 8.20 am on Friday. #GoBackModi was the top trend on Indian Twitter with over 40,000 tweets, followed by its Chinese version with over 24,000 tweets.

#TN_welcomes_XiJinping was the fifth-highest trend. However, there were many who directed their ire at both the leaders.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu CM has urged people to give a warm welcome to both Modi and Xi.

The town of Mahabalipuram has been decked up for Xi’s arrival with both the state and the central government agencies making all-out efforts in preparation of his visit. The coastal town has strong historical linkages with China’s Fujian province, PTI’s Manash Pratim Bhuyan reported.

Ahead of the summit, police detained nine Tibetan activists who planned protests during Xi’s visit to Mahabalipuram, The Hindu reported.

Officials told PTI Xi will arrive at the Chennai airport around 2 PM and then head off to a luxury hotel. At 5 PM, Modi will take Xi to three iconic monuments of Mamallapuram Arjuna’s Penance, Panch Rathas and the Shore temple. Then the two leaders will witness a cultural programme at the temple complex and Modi will host a private dinner for Xi at the temple complex. On Saturday, the two leaders will have an one-on-one meeting at the Fisherman’s Cove resort which will be followed by delegation-level talks.

Xi and Modi are expected to agree on new security measures along the border, officials told Reuters, in an effort to smooth ties ruffled by differences over Kashmir .

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