The case of an 18-hour detention at Shanghai Pudong Airport has outraged many and raised concerns over the treatment of Prema Wangjom Thongdok, an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh. Thongdok, who was on her way to Japan on November 21 from London, said Chinese immigration officials declared her Indian passport “invalid” because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace.
The UK-based Indian citizen explained the experience as a “traumatising ordeal” and said that her scheduled three-hour layover became a protracted detention. She said Chinese immigration personnel mocked her and raised repeated questions about her Indian citizenship. The ordeal ended only after intervention from Indian officials stationed in Shanghai and Beijing.
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Prema thanks supporters, addresses trolls
Thongdok took to the social media platform X and thanked those speaking up in support of the matter at hand, terming it a “diplomatic issue.” She also spoke to online trolls, saying, “… I’m new here and not active on X, it’s because I have a very high-profile full-time position working in the financial services and don’t have idle time to answer trolls! The right people get it..”
She further explained, "And the ones who don’t get it are clearly not people I would engage with anyway! I don’t even live in India so any action that Indian govt takes will be for the benefit & pride of my fellow Indians and Arunachalis living here, not mine. We are one nation we stand for one another."
China denies allegations
As per a report by the Mint, China, however, has denied the harassment allegations. “On the individual case you mentioned, according to what we've learned, during the entire time, China's border inspection authorities carried out check procedures in accordance with laws and regulations”, PTI quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning as saying.
She also said, “Let me point out that having border checks on people entering and exiting a country and carrying out law enforcement according to the specific situation of the entry or exit is the usual practice of border enforcement authorities of countries across the world.”
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India stands firm on Arunachal Pradesh
The Ministry of External Affairs said it reiterates India's position that Arunachal Pradesh is its integral and inalienable part. The MEA said, “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 issue of the detention has been taken up strongly with the Chinese side. Chinese authorities have still not 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”, it further stated.
