Guwahati: India has reacted strongly to the arbitrary detention of an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh in Shanghai International airport without valid reason. In a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that “Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India and this is a self-evident fact. No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality.” The statement further reads that the issue of the detention is taken up strongly with the Chinese side. The Chinese authorities have not still been able to explain their actions, which are in violation of several conventions governing International air travel. The actions by the Chinese authorities also violate their own regulations that allow visa free transit up to 24 hours for nationals of all countries, the statement reads.
It should be mentioned that Prema Wangjom Thongdok, an Arunachal Pradesh resident living in the United Kingdom, has alleged that Chinese immigration officials at Shanghai Pudong Airport mocked her Indian passport and questioned her identity while she was travelling from London to Japan. She says an officer pulled her out of the queue, declared her passport “invalid”, and insisted Arunachal Pradesh was “not part of India”.
Thongdok claims officials and some airline staff laughed at her ethnicity and told her to apply for a Chinese passport. She reports being held for several hours, unable to contact her family, describing the experience as an 18-hour ordeal. The incident has triggered strong reactions from the Northeast community.
Reacting to the issue Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu said, I am deeply shocked by the unacceptable treatment of Ms. Prema Wangjom Thongdok, a proud Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, by Chinese immigration authorities at Shanghai Pudong Airport. Subjecting her despite a valid Indian passport to humiliation and racial mockery is appalling. Arunachal Pradesh is, and will always be an integral part of India. Any insinuation otherwise is baseless and offensive.
Such conduct violates international norms and is an affront to the dignity of our citizens. I am confident that the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India will take up this matter urgently so that such incidents are not repeated.
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