New Delhi: As tensions continues to simmer on the Sino-India border, a video surfaced on social media in which a group of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops are seen crying and sobbing hysterically as they head towards the Ladakh border to face the Indian Army.
The video with crying Chinese soldiers created a flutter on social media as it was watched keenly, commented upon and shared frantically across platforms. Many took opportunity to rebuke China for forcing upon college recruits in border skirmishes, as the young soldiers are seen crying in the video inconsolably. Some called it the fear of Indian forces after Galwan clash which made them ‘cry and weep’ before heading to the border.
The video was shared across online platforms in China as well as on Twitter and on Facebook by a Pakistani comedian Zaid Hamid.
Zaid Hamid posted the video on Facebook, wherein several PLA recruits are seen crying on a bus as they are being transferred to the border area in Ladakh.
A Chinese user who goes by the handle @waynescene reposted the video on Twitter on September 20 and wrote, “They were told that they would be going to the front lines after they got on the bus. The cannon fodder are crying!”
“We Pakistani support you China. Stay Brave”, the Pak comedian also poked fun at the Chinese soldiers. Later, he wrote China’s one-child policy is “seriously hurting the motivation level of our Chinese brothers.”
Video sparks Chinese-Taiwan media war
Taiwanese media such as Liberty Times and Taiwan News, known for anti-China stand, mocked the soldiers for crying and interpreted it as a sign of fear among Chinese troops over their deployment at the border with India.
According to reports, the new troops were “reportedly college students, and five of them had ‘proactively volunteered to serve in Tibet’, which borders the Ladakh region where the bloody Galwan Valley skirmish took place in June of this year, which resulted in death of 20 Indian troops and 43 Chinese soldiers.
The Chinese state-controlled media reacted strongly against its Taiwanese counterparts, saying they deliberately misinterpreted the emotional video involving the PLA soldiers.
Chinese media’s clarification on crying PLA troops
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炮灰们哭的稀里哗啦！pic.twitter.com/wHLMqFeKIa— 自由的鐘聲? (@waynescene) September 20, 2020
Taking note of the viral video, Chinese newspaper Global Times said , “At that time, they were bidding farewell to their parents and sang the famous military song ‘Green Flowers in the Army’, and they sang ‘Go home when you celebrate your work’, completely contrary to the mood created by Taiwanese media.”
It said that the Taiwanese media report “tried to use all kinds of explicit hints to shape the image of the PLA fighters being ‘afraid of war’, when describing all the key information, the author used vague terms such as ‘reported’ and ‘probable’, which seemed very guilty.”
