India has announced that it will not attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing after the Chinese government honoured a People's Liberation Army (PLA) regiment commander who was part of the June 2020 encounter with India in Galwan Valley by getting him to carry the Olympic torch in Wednesday's torch relay.
The relay began in the Olympic Foreign Park, where Wang Meng, China's four-time Olympic short-track speed skater champion, passed the torch to Fabao.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi described the Chinese action of honouring the commander as “regrettable”.
India’s chargé d’affaires in the Beijing embassy will not be attending the opening or closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Bagchi said at a media briefing.
The opening ceremony will be held tomorrow, February 4, and the closing ceremony on February 20.
Regrettable that China has chosen to politicise the Olympics. The Indian envoy will not attend the opening or closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics: @MEAIndia on reports of China making Galwan soldier torchbearer pic.twitter.com/y5qoJbgVEQ
— Prasar Bharati News Services पी.बी.एन.एस. (@PBNS_India) February 3, 2022
Furthermore, Shashi Shekhar Vempati, CEO Prasar Bharati, has said that DD Sports channel will not telecast the ceremonies live.
Who is Qi Fabao?
Fabao had sustained a major head injury during the encounter with India. With his participation among the Olympics' 1,200 torchbearers, China's state-run Global Times hailed Fabao as a hero. He was also seen talking in a Chinese TV show where he shared his experience of ‘defending the motherland and maintaining peace’.
Following a skirmish in the Pangong Lake area on May 5, 2020, the border conflict in eastern Ladakh erupted, and both sides steadily increased their deployment by bringing in thousands of soldiers as well as heavy equipment. On June 15, 2020, Fabao was part of another skirmish in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, where 20 Indian soldiers were killed. It is the biggest military confrontation that the two sides faced for the first time in over five decades.
Even as both parties continue negotiations on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), China's leadership has kept the Galwan conflict in the public eye.
On January 12, India and China concluded the 14th round of Corps Commander-level talks along the LAC, where representatives from both countries' defence and foreign affairs ministries attended the meeting.
The two parties discussed how to settle the problems along the LAC in the Western Sector in an open and in-depth manner to restore peace and improve the bilateral ties.
Both parties committed to following the state leaders' orders and working to settle any remaining issues as soon as possible. The two nations also committed to building on previous achievements and working together to ensure safety and stability.
But this step taken by China has created a stir among Indians as well as other well-wishers and China is being heavily criticised for politicising the Olympics.
USA responds
A senior member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has slammed China's choice of an army officer as the torchbearer for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Jim Risch, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member tweeted: “It’s shameful that Beijing chose a torchbearer for the Olympics who’s part of the military command that attacked India in 2022 and is implementing genocide against the Uyghurs. The U.S. will cont. to support Uyghur freedoms and the sovereignty of India.”
Many others are also condemning the move by China even after India backed Beijing Olympics.
The United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada had earlier announced that their officials would not attend the opening ceremony due to human rights violations in Xinjiang. China has lashed out at them for politicising sports even when their athletes are competing in the Games.
