Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday strongly condemned the Chinese immigration authorities for what he termed “unacceptable” and “appalling” treatment of a woman from the state, who was allegedly detained for nearly 18 hours at Shanghai Pudong Airport after officials reportedly refused to recognise her Indian passport.
The Chief Minister said he was “deeply shocked” by the ordeal faced by Pema Wangjom Thongdok, a UK-based Indian citizen, and claimed that the conduct of Chinese officials amounted to “humiliation and racial mockery.”
Taking to his official X account, CM 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,” the Chief Minister said.
The woman hails from Rupa in West Kameng district and has lived in the UK for many years, was travelling from London to Japan for a vacation on November 21 when her three-hour layover turned into a “prolonged and distressing confrontation”.
Thongdok, who was educated in the USA, has been living in London for a long time. According to local media reports, her father, L.D. Thongdok, who was a senior engineer in the PWD, was a prominent technocrat who died during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
Meanwhile, India had made a strong demarche with the Chinese side, both in Beijing and in Delhi, after Prema Wangjom Thongdok was allegedly detained and harassed by the Chinese immigration authorities at the Shanghai Pudong Airport recently on “ludicrous grounds”.
Thongdok said her ordeal stretched to 18 hours after Chinese officials declared her passport “invalid” because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace.
According to the woman, the immigration personnel detained and harassed her for hours while insisting that “Arunachal Pradesh is part of China.”
Top sources indicate that India reacted strongly, making a strong demarche with the Chinese side in Beijing and in Delhi on the same day the incident took place, with the Indian Consulate in Shanghai also taking up the matter locally and extending full assistance to the stranded passenger.
Thongdok said several officers and China Eastern Airlines staff mocked her, laughed at her, and even suggested she “apply for a Chinese passport”.
What was supposed to be a routine transit, she claimed, turned into a prolonged confinement in the airport’s transit area, where she was allegedly denied clear information, proper food, and access to basic facilities, according to a report by NDTV.
Thongdok alleged that her passport was confiscated and she was barred from boarding her onward flight to Japan despite holding a valid visa.
Confined to the transit zone, she said she could not rebook tickets, purchase meals, or move between terminals.
She further claimed officials pressured her to buy a fresh ticket specifically on China Eastern and hinted that her passport would only be returned after doing so, resulting in financial losses from missed flights and hotel bookings.
She managed to contact the Indian Consulate in Shanghai through a friend in the UK, following which Indian officials intervened and escorted her onto a late-night departure from the city.
(IANS)
