Describing China’s choice of a PLA soldier involved in the Galwan Valley clash as a torchbearer in the Beijing Winter Olympics event as “regrettable”, India on Thursday said its envoy will not attend the opening or closing ceremonies of the games in the Chinese capital.
This was conveyed by Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at his weekly briefing.
After the MEA’s announcement, Prasar Bharati’s CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati said Doordarshan will not telecast the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Qi Fabao, a regiment commander of the People’s Liberation Army who had fought during the Galwan Valley clashes with Indian troops in June 2020 and received a commendation for his role in the fight, was one of the torchbearers for the Olympic flame for the Winter Olympics beginning in Beijing on February 4. His images were tweeted by the Global Times, an English-language news outlet associated with the Chinese government.
It has been a year and a half since the troops clashed in violent hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley, resulting in casualties on both sides, but China has used images and symbolism related to the clash and the valley to project that it had the upper hand in the clashes, even as the two countries are engaged in political, diplomatic and military talks to resolve the standoff that began in May 2020.
“Qi Fabao, a PLA regiment commander who sustained head injury while fighting bravely in the #Galwan Valley border skirmish with #India, is a torchbearer during Wed’s #Beijing2022 Winter Olympic Torch Relay.” the Global Times tweeted on Wednesday morning.
