{"id":5552,"date":"2023-02-04T05:41:05","date_gmt":"2023-02-04T05:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=5552"},"modified":"2023-02-04T13:08:14","modified_gmt":"2023-02-04T13:08:14","slug":"forged-letter-viral-as-chinese-governments-stance-on-debt-restructuring-of-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/forged-letter-viral-as-chinese-governments-stance-on-debt-restructuring-of-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Forged Letter Goes Viral Claiming That China is Not Ready To Amortize SL’s Outstanding Debt!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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As we know, Sri Lanka is facing a deep economic crisis and is literally bankrupt as the country cannot settle local and international loans. Within this background, the government of Sri Lanka is trying to secure an IMF bailout. However, to get the IMF bailout, Sri Lanka needs favorable responses from lender countries who have provided major loans to Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

China is one such major lender nation to Sri Lanka, and the assurance \/promise from China is more helpful to Sri Lanka in convincing IMF that the background for debt restructuring is on the correct path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With such background, a letter has been circulating for weeks on social media. The letter says China cannot amortize Sri Lanka’s loans as China is also suffering from economic problems due to the consequences of Covid 19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s look at the claim in detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media Posts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A letter is being spread on WhatsApp, trying to convince that the letter was issued from the  Chinese Embassy, Colombo, addressed to President Ranil Wickremesinghe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area highlighted on social media posts is read below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Chinese Economy is still recovering from the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is pushing up the inflation levels of the country. Further, our banking sector is already stressed due to the slowdown in the real estate sector. Therefore, we regret to inform that China would not be able to amortise the outstanding debt. However, we are ready to relax the repayment schedule by offering a 5 year moratorium on bilateral and commercial loan repayments.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here<\/a> is a Facebook post with the same purported letter. Archived<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact Check<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We searched whether any international media\/local media had reported the stance of the Chinese government as stated by the viral letter. However, there were no such reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, we checked the Chinese government-based web media and other diplomacy-based communication tools like the official Twitter accounts of the Chinese government and the Colombo-based Chinese Embassy. But, again, there were no any letter or stances like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that, to check the authenticity of this letter, we contacted the Chinese Embassy in Colombo on the 24th<\/sup> of January. Luo Chong, Spokesperson\/Chief of the Political Section of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He said that the letter was clearly forged and had fabricated details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequently, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo released a statement. It rejected the letter’s content, which had been created by misusing the official letterhead of the Embassy, and urged the public to follow official channels for verified information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka clarifies that a letter circulating on social media, under its official letter head and written to Sri Lankan President & Financial Minister, is completely forged. Please follow the official sources of information. pic.twitter.com\/nf5ehZyj6g<\/a><\/p>— Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka (@ChinaEmbSL) January 24, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>