Oppo sacks Chinese official for disrespecting Indian National Flag

China expresses hope that the Indian authorities would 'properly' resolve the issue

Chinese mobile handset maker Oppo on Wednesday said it had terminated the employment of an employee from its home country who was charged with disrespecting the Indian National Flag. The move came after workers of its manufacturing unit at Noida staged protests against the alleged incident on Tuesday. The Chinese foreign ministry said it hoped Indian authorities would resolve the issue “properly”.

“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 behaviour 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,” Oppo India said in a statement.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told the media at Beijing, “We have noted the relevant reports. Company officials are in touch with the local police.” 

“We hope that it will be resolved properly. The Chinese government always asks its Chinese enterprises and staff overseas to abide by local law, regulations and respect local practices and customs,” he said while replying to a question on the incident. “We also hope that the legitimate rights of the Chinese enterprise and staff will be safeguarded under law,” Lu added.

The issue came to the light when factory employees stopped work on Tuesday morning, alleging that a Chinese official of the company tore Indian National Flag inside the premises.  Noida police is investigating the matter based on a first information report (FIR), filed by a group of workers. The FIR includes name of an Oppo employee, a Chinese national, among others. “Charges will be framed under the relevant laws,” said Dinesh Yadav, superintendent of police, Noida. According to sources, manufacturing activity at the facility in Noida Sector-63, continued to be hampered on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses said protesters arrived early in the morning after being removed from the area by the police on Tuesday.

Oppo India started manufacturing at the Noida facility in April last year. It has a capacity to manufacture 10 million handsets a year. The firm is setting up another facility at neighbouring Greater Noida, it announced in December.

Oppo currently holds the fourth spot in the Indian smartphone market, with an 8.6 per cent share in the December quarter (according to IDC). It recently acquired the title sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team in a five-year deal worth Rs 1,079 crore.