Singapore
June 22, 2020
UPDATED: June 22, 2020 08:26 IST
File photo of a joint military exercise of Indian and Chinese troops (Photo Credits: PTI)
As Beijing continues to withhold official information about its casualties in the deadly June 15 face-off with India, Chinese citizens are expressing their frustration over the lack of reporting about the losses.
An open-source analysis of Chinese social-media platforms shows how the citizens have poured their anguish over Beijing's tight regulations online.
Unlike China, the Indian democracy has announced it lost 20 of its soldiers in the hand-to-hand combat with the Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley.
For the families, friends of the PLA soldiers posted in the region, and the ordinary citizens of China alike the situation is still shrouded in mystery.
Their online outpourings, some of them subtle for apparent fears of consequences, suggest they are growing anxious as official statements neither confirm nor deny casualties from the June 15 fighting.
Chinese Netizens Pour It Out on Weibo
Weibo is China's own Twitter. An analysis of communications happening on the micro-blogging site reveals that the Chinese citizens are mostly sharing Indian images, news articles and videos linked to the Galwan Valley clash.
Neither the Chinese state-controlled media nor the government have gone on the record to explain the bloody event in detail.
Let us look at some of the comments with translations:
Chinese netizens demand transparency when it comes to PLA casualties or injuries. They would rather appreciate India for keeping its public up to speed on the losses.
"India has held a memorial service for the sacrificial soldiers. It shows the high respect and attention of the whole country of India to the soldiers who defend the country and the land," a Chinese Weibo user posted on June 19. "It shows the high degree of solidarity of the Indian nation. What about us? We should learn from India and show respect to our soldiers. Why don’t we openly hold memorial services for the soldiers who died? What? 0 deaths of the PLA? Have the injured been transported? Excuse me?"
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The Chinese soldiers are strictly banned from divulging any information to family or friends. This seems to have resulted in a lot of uncertainty with regards to their whereabouts and well-being.
"I have been concerned about the situation between China and India since yesterday. From the videos and articles of overseas news, what I am most concerned about is our young soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army, whether there are casualties as no specific figures have been announced (India has announced the deaths of 20+ Indian soldiers with photos), our Chinese border guards and soldiers must be very young youths, having concerned parents, (very much in my heart)," read another Weibo post. "We patriots are even more worried about your comforting compatriots in the motherland and hope you are safe. You are the pride of our motherland! Thank you all!"
A few Chinese netizens are uncomfortable with some in the local social-media circles mocking the sacrifice of Indian soldiers.
"In the case of conflict with India, hundreds of soldiers are involved. Even if we have strict discipline and hard training, we are all flesh after all. It is estimated that many of our soldiers too have injuries," a Chinese netizen wrote. "Looking at those cheering and mocking at the Indian casualties, it makes me feel happy and sad. The families of these fighters must be very nervous now."
Upon two days after the Galwan Valley clash, the Chinese netizens started getting worried about PLA soldiers.
"Care is not flashy statements. It is about taking care of the needs of the soldiers and improving their training equipment," read a reply.
Relatives started posting online about their grievances, saying troops in the Ladakh region were not contactable.
"Soldiers and their families need to be taken care of well. The families will be very worried," said a note in Weibo thread.
"Very worried about the soldiers. No information on their well being. Families are very worried," read another.
Some posts slammed China's suppression of information and the country's domestic media for revealing too little about the situation.
"Just want to understand why the casualties of the People’s Liberation Army are not released but they are expected to sacrifice their lives for protection of the nation? Come on, China only play tricks on the outside and suppresses opinions on the inside," a Weibo handle read.
"The key is now who can believe and who will believe in the Chinese media. There is too much falsehood, and there is really not much credibility left. Whatever the domestic media is doing now is what foreign media outlets say," read another comment.
Keeping Public In the Dark
Predominantly, the exchange of messages on Weibo is all about how the Chinese government and media always keep the people in the dark.
This has been evident even during the Covid-19 breakout.
A Chinese doctor from Wuhan, Li Wenliang, was one of the first to issue the initial warnings about the spread of coronavirus in Wuhan.
He shared the suspicions on a private chat with his medical school graduates.
Rather than looking into the seriousness, Chinese authorities summoned Li and seven other doctors, and accused them of rumour mongering.
When Dr Li died at Wuhan in February after contracting the virus himself, Weibo got flooded with a wave of anger embodied in hashtags "Wuhan government owes Dr Li Wenliang and apology" and "We want freedom of speech".
Chinese authorities were quick to censor both hashtags and delete critical comments.
Given China's record in suppressing information, its citizens may have to wait longer for Beijing to disclose the losses from the June 15 incident, unless the establishment takes heed of growing resentment.
"The Chinese government indicated that there were not a lot of casualties and the Chinese casualties were lesser than that of India’s. The Indian public will put pressure on India to react, as there is democracy there," a Weibo user warned. "If our casualties are greater than those of the Indians, our public opinion will not be conducive for China."
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/sto...osses-india-faceoff-ladakh-1691380-2020-06-22
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