NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Tuesday condemned an alleged coordinated anti-India campaign by Chinese nationals who have reportedly been filming videos in slum areas of Dhaka for months and portraying the locations as parts of New Delhi during livestreams on Chinese social media platforms.During the weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal termed the incident as “unfortunate” and said that attempts to project a distorted picture of a country only undermine the credibility of those involved and those backing them.“We have seen media reports in this regard. Such efforts to present a distorted picture of any country are unfortunate,” Jaiswal said.“Insofar as efforts to buy foreign elements to portray Dhaka as Delhi are concerned, the peddling of false narratives only undermines the credibility of those who are undertaking such actions and those who are behind them. And I would urge the authorities concerned to take action against such people,” he added.According to recent media reports, Chinese vloggers and livestreamers have been recording videos in impoverished neighbourhoods of Dhaka, Bangladesh, while falsely identifying the locations as parts of New Delhi.The videos reportedly feature derogatory remarks about India’s living conditions, sanitation, food habits and poverty.According to Prothom Alo, the activity has been reported in Sector 12 of Uttara and the adjoining Tekpara area of Dhaka, where local residents estimate that more than 150 Chinese nationals have been recording videos.The vloggers reportedly walk through streets and alleyways carrying two mobile phones, livestreaming for hours and, at times, entering people’s homes to film. Their activities, which have continued for months, have increasingly angered residents, who remain unaware of where the footage is being published and how it is being presented.A Chinese national identified as Fangyou told Prothom Alo that the livestreams were part of product promotion activities on WeChat. A Bangladeshi woman, Ritu Akhter, who works as a guide for the Chinese nationals, said they also earned money by posting videos on platforms such as Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
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“This is New Delhi. Their homes are extremely dirty. There isn’t even a fan inside the tin-roofed houses. This place is quite underdeveloped, dirty and unhygienic, and the law-and-order situation is poor,” she said.Apart from the misleading portrayal of their neighbourhoods, residents have raised concerns over repeated filming and alleged intrusions into their homes. Some claimed that the Chinese nationals entered houses and even bathrooms while recording.“Sometimes they enter our homes and start filming. We are not always properly dressed inside our houses. Imagine how it feels when someone suddenly walks into your home and starts recording,” resident Rozina Khatun told Prothom Alo.
