India accuses the Chinese Xiaomi and Vivo of having illegally financed an Indian media to spread false propaganda
Sparks fly between New Delhi and Beijing: Indian police have formally accused Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi Corp and Vivo Mobile of helping to illegally transfer funds to a news portal under investigation for allegedly spreading Chinese propaganda, according to documents Show up on Friday .
Newsclick is an information portal currently under criminal investigation in India. Delhi Police have accused both the news portal and its administrators of obtaining foreign funds illegally sourced from China and using them to try to rig the elections. In the recent mandate, authorities also accused NewClick of spreading fake news to attack India and promote the policies of the Chinese government. In total there were 46 interrogations of journalists and collaborators and several arrests.
“. ..a large amount of funds were diverted from China in a devious and disguised manner and paid news was intentionally disseminated, criticizing India's internal policies, development projects and promoting, designing and defending government policies and programs Chinese ,” the police said in the FIR, the equivalent of our collateral information.
Managers arrested or questioned by police
Offices and homes connected to the publication and its executives were initially searched to find out whether the newspaper had received funding from China. NewsClick founder and editor Prabir Purkayastha and HR chief Amit Chakravarty were arrested on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Xiaomi India strongly denied the allegation that it had funded the media outlet. A spokesperson for Vivo did not immediately respond to repeated requests for comment. NewsClick said the allegations were “untenable and false.”
Media rights and opposition groups in India have said the investigation into NewsClick and the surrounding allegations are part of a crackdown on the press – a charge rejected by the government. The allegations were laid out in a police report filed on August 17.
The news was shared with lawyers for the people named in the complaint on Friday, days after agents raided NewsClick's New Delhi office and journalists' homes, then arrested its founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha and a top administrative officer. The police document states that as part of this plan, large amounts of funds were received from China to spread distorted news criticizing Indian policies and projects and defending Chinese policies and programs.
“It is also learned that large Chinese telecom companies such as Xiaomi, Vivo, etc. incorporated thousands of shell companies in India in violation” of India’s foreign exchange laws “for illegally injecting foreign funds into India in furtherance of this conspiracy,” the complaint reads. .
A senior police official confirmed that the document was authentic and contained allegations against those two companies.
“BASELESS, ABSURD”
“We have no knowledge of it. We strongly deny the allegations against Xiaomi in the FIR,” the Xiaomi India spokesperson said, referring to the First Information Report as how a police complaint is formally filed in India.
“Xiaomi conducts its business operations with the utmost respect and in strict compliance with applicable laws. Any allegations of conspiracy are completely unfounded,” the spokesperson said. Xiaomi and Vivo are among the largest Indian phone brands.
The police document does not provide further details on how the information was learned, nor does it provide evidence of the companies' involvement or indicate what measures the police are considering.
NewsClick said this week that it does not publish any news or information at the behest of any Chinese entity or authority. His lawyers have challenged the complaint in the Delhi High Court.
“The completely absurd nature of the allegations leveled in the FIR clearly shows that the proceedings initiated against NewsClick are nothing but a blatant attempt to muzzle the free and independent press in India,” NewsClick said in a statement on Friday.
“NewsClick has full faith in the Indian justice system and is confident that its position will be upheld,” he added.
China has rejected allegations of interference in India in the past and has urged New Delhi to provide a fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies.
This further episode comes on the path of Sino-Indian relations, already heavily marked by clashes, including physical ones, between the military forces of their countries along the Himalayan demarcation line. Beijing's recent repeated claims to territories in the area have also made relations between the two countries complex. It is not impossible that we will soon see a further resumption of high-altitude military engagements.
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The article India accuses the Chinese Xiaomi and Vivo of having illegally financed an Indian media to spread false propaganda comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/lindia-accusa-le-cinesi-xiaomi-e-vivo-di-aver-finanziato-illegalmente-un-media-indiano-per-diffondere-falsa-propaganda/ on Sat, 07 Oct 2023 17:04:47 +0000.