China says no choice but to take preventative measures to contain COVID-19

Beijing: China said on Tuesday that it has “no choice” but to take preventive measures like travel restrictions to contain COVID-19, as it reacted to a demonstration by stranded Indian students in front of its embassy in New Delhi. China’s response came after reports from New Delhi said several Indian students, mostly studying medicine, held a demonstration in front of the Chinese embassy on Monday demanding Beijing to permit their return to re-join their studies. Asked for her reaction to the Indian students’ demonstration in Delhi, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing here: “COVID-19 is still spreading in many parts of the world”. “So, in this context, the Chinese government has no choice but to take a lot of prevention and control measures,” Hua said. Given the situation, China is adjusting its measures in accordance with the evolving situation, in order to ensure the safe, healthy and orderly flow of Chinese and foreign travellers, she said. “I want to stress that China’s inbound prevention and control measures are applied to all inbound travellers, including its own citizens,” she said. Last week, Indian ambassador to China Vikram Misri criticised China’s prolonged stringent travel restrictions, saying that: “We are disappointed to see an unscientific approach with regard to several problems currently being faced by Indian students, businessmen, marine crew and exporters, to name a few." Besides over 23,000 Indian students studying in Chinese colleges, mostly medicine, hundreds of businessmen, employees, and their families have been stuck in India since last year. The curbs also resulted in several people either losing jobs, businesses, or separation of families.