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Nov. 18 – Chinese computer maker Lenovo has fallen into a row over maps displaying China and surrounding regions installed as wallpaper on laptops given to the Indian government.
On the computers, Aksai Chin, which India claims, is shown as part of China while part of Kashmir is depicted as being in Pakistan. The computers were distributed to India’s Income Tax Department after Lenovo won a bid for supplying them. Around 10,000 laptops were supplied by Lenovo to offices across the country early this year with the entire process being routed through the office of the director of income tax in Delhi.
Lenovo said that the laptops were made in its Indian Pondicherry unit and that the software came from the United States. Lenovo have stated that the map depicts global time zones and not geographical or political boundaries. It also said that they were in the process of removing the wall papers considering the sensitivity involved. The Police have been called in as depicting certain parts of Kashmir as being in Pakistan is a criminal offense in India.
Lenovo said that time zones in the wallpaper adhere to conventionally accepted and commonly found time zone borders and they correspond to the time zone markings at the bottom of the map. However, according to India’s investigating Police, “India falls under a single time zone and so this explanation is not plausible”
According to the company, it held a service camp in April at various income tax offices where time zone wallpapers were replaced with other conventional wallpapers. The company said it would replace the wall papers if there are more in circulation. A senior income tax official contested the claims and said, “We are not aware of such camps. In Mumbai at least the company has not approached us.”
While the disputes between India and China over the territories concerned go back some time, this incident seems more laughable than others. It does demonstrate both an embarrassing lack of due diligence on behalf of the Indian purchasing department and an alarming, if mischievous demonstration of political interference in a globally traded business by the Chinese.
