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The Chinese authorities recently detained up to six people for casting doubts on China's account of the skirmish that happened between the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Indian troops at the Himalayan border.
They were charged under a new law that grants Chinese authorities power to arrest anyone "insulting or slandering heroes and martyrs." The six people face up to three years imprisonment if they are found guilty.
China granted awards to the soldiers that died during the clash
After months of silence about the incident, China recently published in its state-run media that six soldiers died in the fight, a death toll that's way smaller than the number of casualties published by the Indian authorities.
China, in the report, claimed that it was first attacked by the Indian soldiers patrolling the border, but they "conquered" the foreign troops later on.
The state media also praised the efforts of the dead soldiers and published stories about their lives meant to provoke emotions in Chinese citizens.
Some Chinese citizens doubt China's account of the incident
Some citizens in China do not believe the Chinese government. A well-known Chinese blogger on Weibo pointed out some loopholes in China's story. According to the blogger, China's death toll should be higher since the Indian government lost 20 soldiers. He was arrested later during the day for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
Via the blogger's Weibo account, the police authorities informed his followers about his arrest, saying that he "distorted the truth" and "caused an extremely abominable impact on society." They also added that he admitted his guilt when they questioned him.
Other Weibo and social media users were detained
In addition to the blogger, Chinese authorities arrested up to four other Weibo users for their remarks concerning the incident.
On WeChat, another popular social media in China, two other people were arrested after they were reported by other members of their group chat. One of them was caught by Chinese online police during an "online patrol".
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