By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, MAR. 30: A mass protest erupted in the Indian city of Noida in the National Capital Region after a Chinese employee of the Oppo cell phone company allegedly disrespected the Indian national flag. The Chinese man reportedly tore an Indian flag and put it in a dustbin, according to media reports.
The Noida office of Oppo, a Chinese cell phone company in Sector 63 saw protests on Tuesday by factory workers, employees as well as public after a Chinese national working as a Production Manager allegedly tore the tricolor Indian national flag before trashing it.
Hindustan Times, a leading Indian daily reported that a complaint has been filed by three Indian employees of the company at Gautam Budh Nagar police station, Noida and the matter is under investigation.
The protestors had to be controlled by a 200 strong police cordon who assured the public that the matter will be resolved and perpetrator brought to book. “Every corner of the office is under camera surveillance and we have told the police to scan the footage to establish the facts. We cannot tolerate disrespect towards our national flag,” said Vineet Arya, a protester who was cited by HT in the wake of the protest.
On Tuesday, the Oppo Noida office shut down only to resume work yesterday evening. Oppo India yesterday in a statement announced that the Chinese national employee has been sacked after he has been found guilty of the alleged incident. “Based on the recent incident and after thorough investigation with the concerned authorities, we have found that a worker discarded the Indian Flag during regular external material check. Oppo India regrets this unfortunate incident and reaffirms that this is an individual’s behavior and in no way represents our company’s position. We have zero tolerance for such matters and have taken strict action in terminating the individual’s employment and continue working very closely with the authorities on the matter,” the statement read.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang has advised Chinese companies to respect and abide by the laws and rules of the host country at the same time hoped that relevant laws to protect the rights of the Chinese national and the Chinese company will be exercised.
Oppo ranks fourth in the Indian smart phone market, with an 8.6 percent share in the December quarter (according to IDC) with a manufacturing capacity of 10 million handsets a year. Its marketing prowess also showed growth after it acquired the title sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team in a five-year deal worth Rs 1,079 crores recently.
