Fact Check: Did Chinese Side Lose 100 Soldiers In Galwan Valley Clash?

BJP leader Kapil Mishra tweeted a report by a website called kreately.in which said that a former Chinese military official, Jianli Yang, has stated that "More than 100 Chinese soldiers were killed in the dreadful conflict between Indian and Chinese soldiers, in the night of 15th June."

Republic TV also published a report with the same claim on July 7.

The report carried a tweet by an account @tsaiing_wen.

Other portals which propagated this piece of information:

Claim:

Former Chinese military official, Jianli Yang said that 100 Chinese soldiers died in the Galwan Valley clash.

Fact Check:

The claim is false.

The piece of information can be refuted by looking into the various sources cited by the perpetrators of misinformation.

Dubious Website: Kreately

The website which was cited by Kapil Mishra is not a news portal rather it publishes user-generated content.

The Twitter bio of the website clearly states, "Publish Yourself. Sign up and be a writer, it's that easy."

"The son of a former leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Yang Jinali, has claimed that more than 100 Chinese soldiers have been killed at the hands of the Indian Army in the Galwan Valley, but the Chinese government is not deliberately releasing the figures. Yang said that if told about the soldiers, it would be difficult for Chinese President Jinping and there would be a revolt in the party," the report by the Kreately.inreads.

Some posts had cited a website called newscast-pratyaksha.com which had published a report on July 3 stating that that 100 Chinese soldiers were killed by the Indian army.

It had mentioned an opinion piece by Jianli Yang on The Washington Times as source of its claim.

Nowhere in this article, published on June 29 on The Washington Times, did Yang say that 100 Chinese soldiers died during the Galwan clash.

However, Yang mention the Chinese soldiers and the Galwan Valley clash to say that Indian media reports which had stated 40 Chinese soldiers had died in the clashes as, "false information.

"Mr. Zhao avoided giving any details from the Chinese side, but was quick to retort that Indian media reports claiming that at least 40 Chinese soldiers were killed was "false information," he wrote.

Who Is Jianli Yang?

Jianli Yang is a Chinese dissident and son of a former Communist Party leader. He is also the founder and president of Citizen Power Initiatives for China.

In his opinion piece in The Washington Times, Yang said that Beijing fears that the admitting that it had lost troops, that too more in number than its opponent, could lead to major domestic unrest that can even put the regime of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at stake.

"The PLA has long been a key pillar of the CCP's power. If the sentiments of the serving PLA cadres are hurt and they get together with the millions of disgruntled veterans (which may be facilitated by those within the PLA who are already unhappy with Xi -- and there are thousands of them, such as those who were hurt by Xi's move to separate PLA from commercial activities), they could form a formidable force capable of challenging Xi's leadership," he wrote.

"Significantly, the CCP leadership cannot afford to undermine the veterans' potential to launch a collective and armed anti-regime action. Hence, the continuing incidence of veterans' protests, despite significant coercive pressure and bureaucratic measures, is a source of intense anxiety for Xi Jinping and the CCP leadership," he added.

Twitter Accounts

An anonymous Twitter account, NewsLine IFE, publishes defence-related news. This account too had shared the claim on July 2 and tagged the handle @drapr007 in their tweet.

On July 1, this account had shared the same claim.

"The day Communist govt of China will tell the exact no.of Chinese soldiers killed in the clash with the Indian soldiers in Galwan,The whole country will revolt against Xi Jinping.This number is more than hundred."

- Yang Jinali (Son of former leader of Communist Party of China)" reads the tweet.

Republic TV had based its report on another Twitter account which seemingly belongs to the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan). This account does not have a verified blue tick.

Below is a screenshot of Tsai Ing-wen's actual Twitter account @iingwen.

Therefore, Jinali Yang never confirmed that 100 soldiers were killed in Galwan Valley.

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Also Read: Fact Check: Old Video Shared As Pak-Chinese Soldiers Celebrating After Galwan Valley Clas