Ahead of the opening of a communications tower in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo financed with Chinese debt, a photo purportedly showing an entrance ticket for the attraction circulated online. Social media users claimed the ticket stated Sri Lankan members of parliament and Chinese nationals could enter the tower free of charge, as well as claiming it omitted Tamil, one of the island nation's official languages. The tower's management company, however, said the image shows a fake ticket, and that it does not issue "complimentary tickets" to anyone. Sri Lanka's tourism authority said it had not issued the ticket -- which featured Sri Lanka's national emblem -- adding that it had no jurisdiction over the tower.

The image was posted here on Facebook on September 14, 2022. It has been shared dozens of times.

The post's Sinhala-language caption translates as: "The ticket of the Lotus Tower in the latest official language of Sri Lanka / Why do Parliamentarians and Chinese Nationals get a free ticket?/ Why do Sri Lankans have to pay an entrance fee to go in?"

The photo seems to show a ticket -- apparently issued by Sri Lanka's Tourism Development Authority -- for the Colombo Lotus Tower. It bears the Sri Lankan and Chinese national emblems.

The purple and green communications tower, funded by Chinese loans and plagued by corruption claims, has been branded a "white elephant", AFP reported.

The purported ticket includes text in English, Sinhala and Chinese, but omits Tamil, one...

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