80 pc Chinese not aware of 1962 War

Beijing: More than 80 percent of the Chinese don’t know about the 1962 war with India and want the two neighbours to walk out of the shadow of conflict, a survey by state-run media said.

Only about 15 percent of the respondents knew about the 1962 war in the survey conducted on the eve of 50th anniversary of the India-China war in seven major cities by the state-run Global Times.

Over 80 percent Chinese felt neutral or positive about Indians while most believed that two neighbours can move beyond the spectre of war, the survey said.

Asked about their impression of India, 78 percent of respondents said they have a neutral stance toward it, while only 16.4 percent dislike the country, the daily said.

The survey also said slightly over 40 percent of the respondents believed that there is the possibility of military conflict on the borders of China and India, while more than 39 percent of the surveyed said there is little possibility of such conflicts. Around 17 percent ruled out the possibility, the daily said.

Significantly, yet another Chinese newspaper ‘The Liberation Daily’ today warned about efforts by US media groups to strain improving relations between India and China.

Analysing the results Ma Li, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told Global Times that “Compared to Indians who have a deep impression of the war because they were defeated, few Chinese know about the war.”

When asked by the Global Times survey about the impediments to Sino-Indian relations, Chinese respondents said security concerns caused by border disputes, mistrust against each other during the rise of the two powers and the issue of the Dalai Lama were the top three factors affecting ties.

About 75 percent said China and India could walk out of the shadow of the war between the two sides, Ma said, adding that the data was encouraging, as it showed that China and India have more common understandings than disputes.

Ma said the result showed a misunderstanding of China’s development and security strategies by some respondents. He believed that in the foreseeable future, China and India wouldn’t have any head-on confrontation.

“It’s unimaginable for two nuclear-armed powers to fight each other,” he said.