China Detains Blogger Over Posts Suggesting Higher Casualties During Galwan Clash with India: Report

Police in Chinese city of Nanjing have detained a popular blogger on Saturday over social media posts regarding military casualties at the Galwan valley clash with India.

Nanjing Bureau of Public Security said that they have charged 38 year-old Qiu Ziming with a “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a vague crime that may lead to imprisonment for over 10 years, ANI quoted South China Morning Post.

Chinese authorities have accused the blogger of demeaning military casualties of the border clash at Galwan.

Also read: Forced To Disengage, China Releases Propaganda Video With Visuals of Galwan Valley Clash

Also read: China Admits 4 Officers, Soldiers Killed in Galwan Valley Clash, Awards Honorary Titles

Qiu has been a former reporter with the Chinese weekly Economic Observer and had 2.5 million followers on China’s social media platform Weibo.

He published two posts on Friday that suggested that a commander survived the clashes because he was the highest-ranking officer there. He added that the actual casualties on the Chinese side might be greater than what have been disclosed by the Chinese authorities.

China recently acknowledged officially for the first time that four Chinese military officers and soldiers were killed in last year’s clash at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh with the Indian Army as it gave honorary titles and first-class merit citations to the deceased.

State media also released footage of the clash showing Qi walking with open arms towards Indian troops and trying to stop them.

On June 15 last year, 20 soldiers of the Indian armed forces were killed in a clash with Chinese forces along the disputed border in Ladakh, making them the first fatalities on what is known as the Line of Actual Control in 45 years.

In a commentary on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua accused Qiu of “damaging the reputation of heroes, hurting nationalistic feelings and poisoning patriotic hearts” with his sensational posts.

The Chinese Communist Party has been accused of suppressing the idea that could undermine the sweeping authority.

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