The recent violent face-off between India and China in the Galwan Valley, Ladakh resulted in heavy casualties on both sides. 20 soldiers gave the supreme sacrifice from the Indian side, whereas, according to reports, 43 soldiers were killed in the Chinese camp.
While the deaths of Indian Army soldiers were widely reported and they were given respect and proper burials, no detail has been brought out in the public about the fate of PLA soldiers by Chinese authorities.
China has taken censorship to new heights in the wake of this incident as it is hiding the numbers from its own citizens. The mouth-pieces of Beijing are claiming that releasing the numbers will lead to further animosity between the two nations.
The bubble of anger amongst the Chinese natives is building as a result.
The cowardly People Liberations Army (PLA) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is deliberately denying its citizens the right to know about its fallen soldiers.
Since Twitter is banned in China, Weibo, a similar microblogging platform with millions of Chinese users is seeing an outrage as the Chinese citizens demand to know about the soldiers that have died.
After all, every soldier that lays down his life for his country deserves respect. The Weibo users complained that India had organized memorials for its fallen heroes but Beijing was busy in giving mumble-jumble statements.
Published in India Today, these screenshots prove that the Chinese are demanding to know about the fate of their soldiers.
“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.
Questioning the silence of the PLA, another Weibo post read, “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 PLA, 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).”
“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!” said another Weibo user.
Much like Pakistan which refuses to collect the bodies of its soldiers or acknowledge their existence, China is looking to sweep it all under the rug.
“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.” another user said, stating the eternal truth of a war.
“Soldiers and their families need to be taken well care of, the families will be very worried” said another Chinese netizen.
“My brother is posted there, we all are very worried, no information.” said one agitated brother whose brother was posted on the Chinese side in Galwan valley.
All these screenshots prove that no matter the outcome of a war or a brawl, it is the common citizens that suffer. A brother looking out for his brother in the empty cacophony of social media represents the plight of an ordinary Chinese citizen.
China is not only censoring the data about its soldiers, it is censoring Prime Minister Narendra Modi too. A fearful China has already deleted PM Modi’s statement from Chinese Social Media.
Indian embassy officials said that Prime Minister Modi’s speech to Chief Ministers on June 18 and the comments made by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have been removed from two Chinese social media sites.
Soldiers deserve respect, irrespective of boundaries
Instead of giving its soldiers respect, Beijing is hiding their names from its own citizens to save its face and keep intact its fragile ego that has been busted by the battle-hardened soldiers of the Indian Army.
Chinese citizens perhaps don’t realise that the People’s Liberation Army is not their army. It is the army of the Communist Party of China and its primary motive is to defend the interests of the party. So when it comes to protecting the party interests, the PLA could go to any length, not hesitating to even kill the Chinese citizens.
The Chinese citizens amidst all these episodes remain completely oblivious to the truth and they will probably never get to know those soldiers who had the fortune to go one-on-one with the valiant Indian soldiers.