China used actors for propaganda video that wasn't even at Galwan; shot it over 4 hours

After Beijing released a propaganda video on 1 January allegedly showing the Chinese flag in Ladakh's Galwan valley, some users on the Chinese social media platform Weibo have pointed out that the Communist Party (CCP) used Chinese actors for the entire ceremony. Media reports have stated that users on Weibo indicated the CCP used actor Wu Jung and his wife Xie Nan, who is also a TV host, to stage the dramatic flag-raising ceremony on the first day of 2022.

It is to note that China released the propaganda video at a time when Beijing has enforced the controversial land border law while also continuing to cover the country’s aggressive expansionism under the disguise of a cheerful exchange of sweets with the Indian side at Chushul. While Chinese state media had claimed that the Chinese national flag was hurled by PLA troops at Galwan, Weibo users pointed out top actors of the country taking part in the staged ceremony and posted screenshots from the video.

Top Chinese actors spotted in Beijing's propaganda video 

Media reports stated that the location where the ceremony was staged took place nearly 28  kilometres behind Galwan river. It is also to note that Wu Jing is one of China’s top actors and has even played a protagonist in several Chinese films including a range of roles as a soldier of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

He is well known for the role of a Chinese soldier in the movie ‘The Battle at Lake Changjin’. As per media reports, The Battle at Lake Changjin is the most expensive movie made in China with a budget of $200 million. Its story was approved by CCP and was announced as a part of the Communist Party’s 100th Anniversary last year.

Another renowned face spotted by Weibo users in China’s propaganda video is Wu’s wife, Xie Nan who reportedly rose to fame in a 2007 drama series, Jian Xing Tian Xia. She is also known for her prominent roles in A Chinese Odyssey Part Three, The Faces of My Gene, and The Day We Lit Up the Sky. 

Team of directors and junior actors seen at ‘shooting’ spot with PLA member

The users on the Chinese social media platform, according to media reports, have said that a team of directors and junior actors arrived at the ‘shooting’ spot along with Wu, Xie and some PLA members on 24 December 2021 to enact the entire ceremony. It reportedly took four hours for the shooting to take place in December before the video was released on 1 January. Media reports have stated that shortly after the names of the Chinese actors were revealed by Weibo users with screenshots, the accounts of the celebrities were suspended. 

It is to note that three days after China released the video,  pictures have emerged of a group of Indian Army soldiers proudly hoisting the tricolour in the Galwan Valley on New Year's Day. The photos released by Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju on 4 January were seen as a powerful counter to the video shared by the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times on 1 January. 

India-China 2020 clash at Galwan

Under the Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement of 1993, while China and India had agreed to confidence-building measures (CBMs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Beijing has continued to develop infrastructure along the border.

Both sides had committed to not change the status quo before the border dispute was settled. But, in May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive face-offs along the Sino-Indian border and near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

(Image: AP/Republic)