(TibetanReview.net, Nov05’22) – Continuing to play up and propagandize to a high pitch the night clash that took place between its and Indian troops in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh in 2020, China has named nine bridges along the G219 highway, which runs between its occupied territories of Tibet and Xinjiang, as a way to commemorate its four soldiers who were among those who died in it. Many more Chinese troops were suspected to have died, but Beijing admitted only four, belatedly.
The purpose was to “commemorate the heroes who have become the epitome of Chinese people’s ever-growing patriotic sentiment,” said China’s official globaltimes.cn Nov 4.
“Along the G219 highway, 11 bridges are now named after the martyrs and their hometowns including Xiangrong bridge, Siyuan bridge, Zhuoran bridge and Hongjun bridge, as some pictures circulating online showed,” the report said.
The report said Hongjun referred to Chen Hongjun, “a border defense hero who held his post on the plateau for 10 years and died during the China-India border spat on Jun 15, 2020.” It said Xiangrong reminds Chinese people of Chen Xiangrong, “another martyr who sacrificed his life in the border standoff with India, whose touching words ‘pure love, only for the country’ are still remembered by many people.”
It said another two martyrs who died in the same clash were Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran.
The report referred to the high-level honours China had heaped on them and Qi Fabao, a PLA regiment commander who suffered a serious head injury during the clash; the obvious purpose being to drum up support for its disputed version of events on the incident.
India said the clash took place on its side of the border in a pre-planned night attack by the Chinese who used crude, deadly improvised weapons not involving the use of guns as these are banned under existing agreements between the two sides.
The report noted that in Feb 2021, the Central Military Commission issued commendations to the servicemen for their role in bravely fighting back provocations by foreign forces in the Galwan Valley. The title of “Border-defending Hero” was conferred posthumously to Battalion Commander Chen Hongjun, while Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran received first-class merits, the report noted.
The report also said “the five heroes who fought bravely defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity – Qi Fabao, Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan, and Wang Zhuoran – were also selected as candidates for the eighth national campaign of China’s ethical role models in July 2021. They have been nominated the country’s ethical role models.”