(TibetanReview.net, Mar05’25) – Both China and India present each other as the aggressor in the Galwan valley clash in mid-Jun 2020 which claimed the lives of 20 Indian troops and at least four from the Chinese side. Hence, any playing up of that incident to honour the “heroism” of the involved soldiers is bound to be provocative to the other side. It would certainly raise a question mark on the level of genuineness of the interest of the concerned side to normalize ties with the other side.
But China has done just that.
“Qi Fabao, a PLA regiment commander who sustained a head injury while fighting bravely in the Galwan Valley border skirmish with India on Jun 15, 2020, was honoured among 33 individuals for their outstanding performance as Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) members,” reported China’s official globaltimes.cn Mar 3.
Citing CPPCC Daily, the report said that at the award ceremony for the 2024 Outstanding Performance Award for CPPCC Members held in Beijing on Mar 2 afternoon, the CPPCC Chairperson’s Council meeting decided to commend committee members with exceptional performance, granting the award to 33 individuals. Qi was among these individuals.
The report then narrates the “heroism” displayed by Qi during the Galwan Valley clash, saying: “In 2020, Qi, then a regiment commander in a border defense unit, fought courageously and stood his ground, leading his troops in resolutely countering the violent actions of foreign forces.”
It noted that Qi was awarded by the Central Military Commission with the title of “Hero Regimental Commander for Defending the Border” and honoured with the Jul 1 Medal in 2021 by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
The report continued that in Jan 2023, Qi was invited as a special guest and became a CPPCC member following the announcement of the list of members of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC. So, he was not even a member of the CPPCC when the Galwan Valley clash took place.
Citing CCTV Military, the military channel of China Central Television (CCTV), the report even cited a video footage from the 2024 “two sessions” as showing that the scar on Qi’s head was clearly visible, As if that speaks for itself.
Citing a CCTV report in Feb 2021, the report then blamed India for that clash, claiming, “In Jun 2020, the Indian military violated the previous consensus and trespassed the Line of Actual Control and built tents. Out of respect to previous agreements and rituals, Qi, regimental commander of the Chinese military, went to negotiate with a few soldiers. However, the Indian military showed no sincerity and had already deployed more soldiers in an attempt to force the Chinese soldiers to concede.”
The report continued that when facing more Indian soldiers appearing from nearby mountains, Qi reproached the Indian military for destroying the agreement and organized Chinese soldiers to move into combat formations to engage in any confrontation.
The report then claimed that the Indian military then started to attack the Chinese soldiers by using steel tubes and cudgels and throwing stones. Qi was under heavy attack and sustained a serious head injury, it said.
The Indian version of the conflict is the exact opposite, saying the Chinese launched the attack on the Indian side in Ladakh in the dead of night, armed with deadly improvised weapons such a nail studded clubs and metallic rods.