A People’s Liberation Army (PLA) regiment commander who was involved in the June 15, 2020 clash with India in Galwan Valley was chosen by the Chinese government to carry the Winter Olympic torch in Wednesday’s torch relay in Beijing.
The Winter Olympics will open on Friday in a lavish ceremony to be attended by President Xi Jinping and more than a dozen world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, five Central Asian Presidents and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
On Wednesday, the capital held a torch relay with 1,200 torchbearers. Among them, the Communist Party-run Global Times reported, was Qi Fabao, regiment commander who was later honoured by the Chinese military after he sustained a head injury in the Galwan Valley clash in June 15, 2020.
He “took the flame from Wang Meng, China’s four-time Olympic short track speed skating champion, at Winter Olympic Park on Wednesday,” a report in the Global Times said.
China previously hit out at Western countries for “politicising” the games after the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada said their officials would not attend the opening ceremony because of human rights violations in Xinjiang, although their athletes are participating in the winter games.
China’s government has continued to keep the Galwan clash in the public spotlight even as both sides continue talks on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
