New Delhi: China’s state-run newspaper Global Times said Sunday India has negatively portrayed the publication in connection with the arrest of journalist Rajeev Sharma.
Sharma was arrested on 14 September under the Official Secrets Act, for allegedly passing sensitive information to China in exchange for hefty sums of money since 2016, including the 2017 Doklam standoff.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Global Times, wrote in an editorial that both the “information release” and the Indian media’s coverage of the case had highlighted that Sharma had written for his publication, which is “enough to create a negative association against Global Times”.
“I think it’s very inappropriate for the Indian side to publicly link Global Times to this case and to create a sensation to attract attention,” he wrote. “They have obviously failed to show due respect to a Chinese media outlet. And it is particularly improper for the Indian government to do so.”
Also read: China warns of counter measures as it protests US move to ban TikTok, WeChat
‘Making up unjust case’
Hu Xijin also stated that he does not know “whether the Indian side is making up an unjust case because of the tensions between China and India”. He emphasised that Global Times has a large number of freelance writers all over the world.
“Indian intellectuals are generally able to write in English. Since the launch of English edition of the Global Times more than a decade ago, it has been common for Indians to either work for the Global Times in Beijing as copy editors, or write for us from India as freelance writers,” he said.
Global Times, he said, has published many reports and opinion articles on China-India border tensions.
“I know some Indians have been unhappy with us. They can criticise us openly or argue with us, but it’s meaningless to play such a petty trick,” he added.
Media reports of police accusations
Hu Xijin specifically referred to references made in media reports which stated that Sharma wrote for Global Times from 2010 to 2014, and was noticed by Chinese intelligence after they read his pieces.
ThePrint had reported that the police found Sharma to be in possession of some classified defence-related documents, and some on foreign policy, the Dalai Lama, Army movement and positioning on the India-China border.
A police source had said Sharma disclosed that he was about to send critical information on the India-China stand-off, along with secret documents, to his handlers in China.
A Chinese woman, Quing Shi, and a Nepali national, Sher Singh, were also arrested in connection to the case.
Also read: China, India signal each other on might in Indian Ocean Region, amid tensions on land