A woman hailing from Rupa in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district was detained at Shanghai airport by Chinese immigration authorities for around 18 hours after the officials deemed her Indian passport invalid as her birthplace was listed as Arunachal Pradesh. Pema Wangjom Thongdok, who is in her mid-thirties and currently resides in London, United Kingdom, was on her way to Japan with a transit halt for a connecting flight at Shanghai airport where she was stopped by Chinese immigration officials.
According to reports quoting a family member, Thongdok was later allowed to leave the country only after Indian officials intervened. What was supposed to be a three-hour scheduled layover turned out to be a traumatising ordeal for the woman.“She works in the UK and was on her way to Japan on a vacation. She was detained and questioned by Chinese immigration officials. But thankfully, she has been allowed to leave,” said the family member.
The Chinese officials had reportedly told her that Arunachal Pradesh is part of China and therefore her passport was not a valid Indian passport. Educated in the United States, Thongdok later moved to London, where she has been residing for several years now. Notably, China issues stapled visas to citizens from Arunachal Pradesh citizens who apply for Chinese visas, as they illegally claim Arunachal to be a part of South China. Indian immigration officials however do not accept stapled visas, owing to which sportspersons and academicians from Arunachal Pradesh often do not get opportunities to travel to China.
