The police is telling the international student who illegally occupied two seats on the train to stand up. Photo: screenshot of video posted by btime.com

 A video showing a Ghanaian student being arrested by police on the train for illegally occupying two seats went viral on Chinese social media amid an online controversy over the priorities some foreign students enjoy on campuses in China. 

The international student in the video posted on Sunday by btime.com, a news site belonging to Beijing Radio and Television Network, sits on two seats on the K377 train from Shanghai to Xining, Northwest China's Qinghai Province, and ignores police warnings to him in the Chinese language. 

When the police tell him to stand up, he turns his head and looks out of the window.

The police warn him three times in Chinese to stand up and give back the seats, but the student does not react. Finally he is handcuffed and taken away.

According to the report by the People's Daily website, the student after getting on the train found that his seat had been occupied by others and so illegally occupied two other seats.

The report said he refused to stand up and give up the seats because of the language barrier and misunderstanding during the communication.

Chinese internet users disagreed with this explanation, saying that before coming to China, international students should learn some necessary Chinese and know the country.

"The language barrier cannot be considered as an excuse for his illegal behavior," one user wrote.

Others pointed out that this student's "disrespectful behavior" as he ignores the police in the video. 

Some net users urged the police to also investigate those who occupied the student's seat.

A 29-year-old American who asked not to be fully named told the Global Times on Tuesday that she agreed with those Chinese net users that said the student's behavior was wrong. 

"I often take trains in China and I know taking your seat indicated by the ticket is a basic rule on the train," she said.

"You can ask the police for help when your seat is occupied, but you should not take 'revenge' in this method."

The report did not say what the punishment of the student.

International students in China have been mired in online controversy for the alleged benefits they enjoy on Chinese campuses after a university in East China's Shandong Province was reported to have allocated three female study buddies for each male international student. 

Global Times