Beijing-Bashing: 'Fine' on China Goods Dealers in Arunachal

By Rahul Karmakar

Guwahati, Feb 9 : Buying, selling or using anything with a made-in-China tag now invites a 'fine' of Rs 10,000 in Arunachal Pradesh. That goes for relishing Chinese food too.

Less than two months after setting a deadline for traders and consumers to stop using Chinese goods, the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) began burning China-made products on Monday. Barely 24 hours later, the union ‘imposed’ a fine on anyone “collaborating to help Chinese economy”.

The AAPSU show of anger is against Beijing’s “undue” territorial claim over Arunachal Pradesh. It, leaders of the organization said, is also a reminder to New Delhi not to be in awe of China and hit the Red Dragon where it hurts the most.

“We are doing what the Indian government should have been,” AAPSU president Takam Tatung told Hindustan Times from State capital Itanagar.

“We are born Indians and we will die Indians. Why should we let in and use products of a country that is bent upon grabbing our ancestral land? This (making a bonfire of Chinese goods) is the only way of exposing China’s expansionist policy to the world.”

Tatung said his organization had eased the month-long ultimatum by a week after the Arunachal Chamber of Commerce and Industries pleaded time to dispose of stock of Chinese goods procured earlier.

“We have begun by burning Chinese goods, but if traders persist, each of them will have to pay a fine of Rs 10000,” Tatung said. He added restaurateurs have also been ordered to strike Chinese cuisine off their menu.

The Congress government headed by Dorjee Khandu – no less a Beijing-baiter – is yet to officially react to the AAPSU’s vigilantism against users of Chinese goods. “But we will ensure they don’t go overboard with this unacceptable fiscal penalty,” a government spokesperson said.