Photo: IC

Several people in India who were interviewed by Global Times have asked the newspaper to delete reports that told of their hopes for improved China-India relations saying they received death threats from Indian netizens.

Some of the people interviewed said the banning of Chinese mobile applications affected normal communication, worsened relations and upended some aspects to their lives.

Those who live in China can no long contact their relatives in India using WeChat, while people in India can't use the app to stay in touch with Chinese business contacts and friends.

People who expressed these points of view faced attacks on Twitter. 

"People are sending me abusive messages. My family is here. I am worried for them," one Indian interviewee wrote in a message to the Global Times asking for a video interview he did to be immediately deleted. "Otherwise I will be in trouble," the person wrote.

Another interviewee who lives in Beijing told the Global Times that although she is now safe, her mother in India received a threatening message.

Threatening people for expressing their own opinions amounts to cyber bullying that could further impact relations of the two countries, the interviewees said.

Some Indian media outlets have published unflattering and fake articles about relations with China. One Indian interviewee said the Indian news platform Zee News claimed that the Global Times had conducted a survey comparing India's prime minister and China's president, but the Global Times has never conducted such a survey.