US lawmaker condemns China’s ‘shameful’ move of choosing Galwan soldier as torchbearer at Winter Olympics

A United States lawmaker has condemned China for selecting a PLA regiment commander involved in the 2020 Galwan Valley clash against India to become the torchbearer at the Winter Olympics.

Senator Jim Risch, a Republican who is a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the move “shameful” and said that the US will continue to support the sovereignty of India.

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“It’s shameful that Beijing chose a torchbearer for the Olympics 2022 who’s part of the military command that attacked India in 2020 and is implementing genocide against the Uyghurs. The US will continue to support Uyghur freedoms and the sovereignty of India,” Risch wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, India has said that it’s top diplomat in Beijing won’t be attending the Olympics and disparaged China for politicising the marquee event.

Qi Fabao, the Chinese regiment commander, was among the troops present in 2020 during the high-altitude Himalayan skirmishes in Ladakh.

Fabao appeared on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV in December and said he was “ready to return to the battlefield and fight again”.

The skirmishes at the Galwan Valley took place in 2020 where 20 Indian soldiers were killed—a first in nearly six decades.

Several rounds of talks have been taken place between the Indian and Chinese Army to diffuse the situation, but no conclusive result has emerged.

The Olympics has already been mired in controversy over politics and the COVID-19.

Several western nations, including the US, have refused to send officials to Beijing for Friday’s opening ceremony in protest against human rights abuses by the Chinese government, Coronavirus origins and crushing democracy in Hong Kong.

(With inputs from agencies)