Qi
Fabao, a People's Liberation Army (PLA) regiment commander who sustained head
injury while fighting bravely in the Galwan Valley border skirmish with India,
became a torchbearer during Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Torch Relay on
Wednesday, according to the Global Times.
Qi, the regimental commander from the People's
Liberation Army (PLA) Xinjiang military command, who suffered a serious head
injury during the Galwan Valley border skirmish on June 15, 2020, took
the flame from Wang Meng, China's four-time Olympic short-track speed-skating
champion, at Winter Olympic Park on Wednesday. [1]
Tellingly, India has previously made it clear that it will not be joining calls to boycott the Olympics in the neighboring country.
The joint statement after the Russia-India-China foreign ministers' virtual meet on November 26, 2021, hosted by New Delhi, said, "the Ministers expressed their support to China to host Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games."
The Indian stance comes even as the border row with China continues. The last two years have seen the Chinese build-up at the Line of Actual Control with India in Eastern Ladakh. In 2020, India lost 20 of its soldiers due to the Chinese army's actions in Galwan valley. China has said that it lost four of its soldiers.
On January 12, the 14th round of military talks over the stand-off at eastern Ladakh failed after marathon 13-hour-long meeting.
US, other nations boycott Beijing Olympics
On December 6, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced America wouldn't send an official delegation to the Beijing Games citing the government's mass detention camps and forced sterilization campaign against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the country's western province.
"As the president has told President Xi [Jinping], standing up for human rights is in the DNA of Americans. We have a fundamental commitment to promoting human rights," Psaki told reporters.
The United States' move, however, stopped short of prohibiting athletes from competing. "The athletes on Team USA have our full support, we will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home," Psaki said.
Several major nations have joined the U.S. in its diplomatic boycott of the Games.
One day after the U.S. announced its plans, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would not send an official diplomatic representative to the Games, also citing the Chinese government's human rights violations.
(Article changed on Feb 03, 2022 at 1:45 PM EST)
