Chinese soldiers were killed
in last summer’s India-China border clash.
But the numbers don’t add up.
And no one is allowed to question it.
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
The Chinese military now says four Chinese soldiers were killed in a border clash with
India.
If that sounds like old news, it is.
That border clash was more than six months ago—and the Chinese military are only reporting
it now.
That incident in June 2020 was the first deadly clash in the border area in at least 45 years.
Chinese and Indian soldiers had engaged in hand to hand combat, in the dark, on dangerous
mountain slopes.
Within a few days, the Indian military had reported 20 deaths on their side.
And they held public funerals to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers.
“In the initial days after the clash, unconfirmed reports in Indian media put the number of
Chinese dead as high as 45.
More recently, an Indian security official said Friday that the military estimates at
least 14 Chinese soldiers were wounded, eight of whom later died.”
But either way, that’s a lot more than four—the number that China’s military claimed a few
weeks ago.
It has to be way less than the number of Indians who died.
Otherwise, China will look weak.
In a pointless border clash where everyone loses, it’s still important to win.
China’s announcement came with a propaganda video that shows brave Chinese soldiers at
the border diplomatically diffusing tensions with the Indian side.
And it eulogizes the four soldiers who were said to have died.
They died, by the way, not at the hands of the Indian soldiers—no!
They died trying to rescue their comrades.
But I have some bad news: Some Chinese netizens saw this and began questioning whether what
state-run media were reporting really adds up.
The good news is: China already has a law to handle that.
And Chinese police have begun arresting people for 'insulting' the Chinese soldiers killed
in the India border clash.
In 2018, China had passed a law that bans people from ‘insulting or slandering heroes
and martyrs.’
And under new rules that took effect last week, people who ‘insult, slander or use
other means to infringe the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs and damage the
public interest of society’ can be jailed for up to three years.
One of the six people Chinese police have detained is Qiu Ziming.
He’s a former reporter and a verified Weibo user who goes by the username Spicy Pen Ball.
He’s got two-and-a-half million followers.
A few weeks ago, he posted some comments expressing his skepticism about the Chinese military’s
official death toll.
“Of course the highest ranked official stays alive.
I bet he’s got a ‘runaway’ personality.
And of course, ‘the Indian troops held their heads and ran away from us.’
Anyway, we won.”
“Think about it like this.
If the government says these 4 soldiers died trying to ‘rescue’ other soldiers, then
there must be other soldiers who weren’t rescued.
There’s definitely more casualties than reported.
This makes me understand why India was so fast to report their casualties, because in
their eyes, India had won, as their losses were less than China’s.”
It’s hard to know whether Spicy Pen Ball is correct.
But one thing’s for sure.
His comments were politically incorrect.
And by the end of the day, the Weibo platform itself posted this announcement.
Which is weird, because he didn’t actually mention the names of the fallen soldiers,
or actually slander them.
But if you think blocking the account for a year is too harsh, you’re wrong.
Because a few hours later, the Weibo platform posted this update, saying that “According
to the law, all accounts under Spicy Pen Ball’s name have been closed”, presumably forever.￼
And then the company that Spicy Pen Ball—Qiu Ziming—used to work for, The Economic Observer,
rushed to disown him.
“IMPORTANT NOTICE: Weibo User @Spicy Pen Ball has been banned for his slandering and
bad influence.
Qiu Ziming left our company in 2015.
His opinions are not affiliated with our company.
The staff at The Economic Observer are very respectful and mournful over the sacrifices
of our country’s heroes, and we condemn any slandering on their behalf!”
Yes, Qiu’s post was so influential that the company he worked at six years ago had
to come out and deny any affiliation with him.
The next day, the Nanjing police issued a notice declaring that they had taken action
on this serious, serious issue.
It says, “On the night of February 19, police captured the perpetrator Spicy Pen Ball.
Spicy Pen Ball has confessed to his ill intention of seeking attention by bending the truth...
The Nanjing Police have placed Spicy Pen Ball in criminal detention under suspicion of the
crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
Slandering heroes is intolerable.
The internet is not outside of the law.
The Public Security Bureau will severely punish those who distort, defame, or deny the heroism
of our soldiers.
We hope all internet users understand and follow this law, and help build a healthier
and friendly internet community.”
Yes, nothing creates a healthy and friendly community like arresting everyone who commits
thoughtcrime.
And Spicy Pen Ball’s situation is not unique.
Local police bureaus across China have made similar posts, saying they’ve arrested netizens
who have quote-unquote slandered the names of the nations’ heroes.
Even Chinese people living overseas aren’t safe.
I’ll tell you more after the break.
Welcome back.
Even Chinese people outside China are under threat if they hold politically incorrect
views about what happened on the India-China border.
In February, a Chinese citizen living in Europe named Wang Jingyu took to Chinese social media
to express a pretty direct criticism of Chinese soldiers.
￼ It says, “Serves those soldiers right.
They were looking for trouble and they got it.
The Indian soldiers did a good job.”
Obviously, this comment is not very positive towards the Chinese soldiers.
And it implies that Chinese soldiers started the conflict because they were looking for
trouble.
So a bunch of Chinese netizens rushed to find Wang Jingyu’s information to report him
to the police.
But bad news: Wang Jingyu left China in 2019, and he lives outside of the Chinese police’s
jurisdiction.
The good news is: Chinese police can use his parents in China as collateral!
They sent him this text message.
“Wang Jingyu: This is the Tanjiagang police.
You have three days to surrender yourself, or else your parents will have a hard time.”
Hm, well the police sure are informative!
Wang Jingyu called the police back several times to ask for more details.
Here’s his last attempt.
“Hello, is this the Chongqing Shapingba District police?
[pause] Yes.
Hi.
You texted me earlier, I wanted to ask what criminal offense I’ve done…
[No response] Hello?
Hello?
I’ll give you all of my information if you could look me up and tell me what I did wrong.
Hello?
What is up with the police?
How come when I call you you’re not saying anything?
You’ve been calling me nonstop the past two days to surrender.
And now I’m here, and you’re not doing anything?
You’re the police, I’m the criminal, why are you afraid of me?
Hello?
Police?
Hello?
This is my right, you need to inform me what crimes I’ve committed.”
But even though Wang Jingyu is free according to European law to express his views, his
comments brought shame to his entire family.
And by “brought shame,” I mean Chinese police detained his parents.
“According to reports, Wang Jingyu’s parents were held in the police station from 6 o’clock
in the morning until night time…
At night, two police, one man and one woman, would escort Wang Jingyu’s parents home
and monitor them overnight.
The male policeman would sleep with the father, and the policewoman would sleep with the mother,
and the parents would be escorted back to the police station the next day.”
OK, I know Chinese police often go overboard.
But sleeping with the parents?
That’s just weird.
But the point is, no matter where you live, if you question the Chinese Communist Party's
official narrative, prepare to face consequences.
Unless you’re like me, in which case you just get demonetized by YouTube.
Speaking of which, the only reason we can withstand all the suppression and demonetization
from YouTube is because we’re mainly supported directly by viewers like you—folks who contribute
a dollar or more through Patreon.
And as a thank you to our supporters, I answer their questions at the end of some of my episodes.
Today’s question comes from Lunar Worx.
“I once heard from an expat that Chinese police don't put much effort into policing
poor areas of their country.
Do Chinese police only fight crime when it's convenient for the CCP?”
No, no Lunar Worx.
Firstly, there are police all over China.
China spends more money on internal security than on national defence.
So even if you’re in the smallest, most remote, village, as long as you have internet
access and post something that questions the official narrative, the Chinese police WILL
FIND YOU.
And if you’re living overseas, they’ll find your parents.
No matter how inconvenient it is for the CCP, they will spare no expense...to punish their
own citizens.
Thanks for your question.
And thanks for watching.
Join us on Patreon.
Go to Patreon.com/ChinaUncensored to learn more.
Once again, I’m Chris Chappell.
Thanks for watching China Uncensored.