Question: Recently, PLA Daily, a newspaper of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, reported the heroic deeds of the Chinese border troops stationed in the China-India border areas. What's the purpose?

Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, Spokesman for Chinese Ministry of National Defense: In the recent fight to safeguard China's national territorial sovereignty and maintain peace and tranquility of the China-India border areas, a number of heroic service members, who cherish peace, stick to their duty and defend justice, have emerged in the Chinese border defense forces.

It should be noted that since last June, Indian troops illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for deliberate provocation, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus intentionally triggering the fierce physical conflict at the Galwan Valley and causing casualties on both sides. The responsibility of the skirmish at the Galwan Valley lies entirely with the Indian side.

After the skirmish, the Chinese side, out of consideration to preserve the overall situation of the relations between China and India as well as the two militaries, promoted the cooling and easing of the situation and exercised a high degree of restraint, which reflects China's manner as a responsible power.

However, the Indian side has repeatedly hyped up the casualties, distorted the truth, misled international public opinion, and slandered the Chinese border troops.

History cannot be tampered with, and heroes cannot be forgotten. Public coverage of the heroic deeds of Chinese border troops by the Chinese media is the responsibility of the media to objectively tell the facts. It is conducive to clarifying the truth and letting the world see the rights and wrongs.

China's position on resolving the China-India border issue is clear, consistent and sincere. China is always committed to resolving disputes through dialogue and negotiation, maintaining the general situation of the relations between the two sides, promoting the cooling and easing of the situation, and restoring the peace and tranquility in the China-Indian border areas as soon as possible.

Question: According to public reports, China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) has honored the service members who had sacrificed their lives or been seriously injured during the clash as border-defending heroes. Two of them were conferred the honorary titles of "Heroic Regiment Commander in Defending Country and Border" and "Border-defending Hero" respectively. What's the connotations and significance of such honorary titles? Could you brief us on the corresponding pension and preferential treatment?

Spokesman: Conferring honorary title is an important reward of the Chinese military to those exemplary service members or units that have made outstanding and special contributions during combats, military training and other works, which generated significant influence or impetus to the country and the military. The service members publicly reported this time are “iron soldiers” nurtured by the Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Strengthening Military. They are outstanding representatives of the Chinese military in the new era.

The Party, the country and the military attach great importance to the pension and preferential treatment of the service members, and make good efforts to deal with the follow-up pension works for heroes and martyrs in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Regulations on Pension and Preferential Treatment for Military Members. The Chinese people has fine tradition of cherishing and carrying on patriotism and revolutionary heroism and the whole Chinese society always respects, learns from, defends and cares for the heroes. Those heroes and martyrs who have sacrificed their lives or been wounded for the country will never be forgotten by their country and the people, and the families of the heroes and martyrs will get proper arrangement and care.