India Lodges Protest After Arunachal Woman Held in Shanghai
New Delhi sends a strong diplomatic protest after Chinese authorities reportedly detained a woman born in Arunachal Pradesh at Shanghai Pudong Airport, saying her passport was invalid
Chinese Officials Allegedly Told Her: “Apply for a Chinese Passport”
India has lodged a strong diplomatic protest with China after Prema Wangjom Thongdok, a UK-based Indian from Arunachal Pradesh, complained that she was detained for almost 18 hours at Shanghai Pudong Airport. Thongdok alleged Chinese immigration officers refused to acknowledge her Indian passport as it mentioned Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace – a region Beijing continues to claim. She said officials insisted her passport was not valid, causing her to miss her connecting flight to Japan.
During the ordeal on November 21, Thongdok claimed that the airport and airline staff ridiculed her identity and questioned her nationality. The immigration officers laughed, negated her as an Indian citizen, and told her she should seek a Chinese passport. Her passport was withheld for hours, and with all valid documents, she was not allowed to board her next flight.
The incident generated an immediate reaction from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which issued a formal demarche to the Chinese authorities in New Delhi and Beijing. The Indian Consulate in Shanghai intervened to assist her until she was allowed to proceed. In New Delhi, officials condemned the treatment she underwent, describing the situation as “baseless and unacceptable,” and re-iterated that Arunachal Pradesh remains an integral part of India.
India also pointed out that China’s moves were in contravention of global aviation norms, including provisions under the Chicago and Montreal Conventions, and unnecessarily escalated an already sensitive border issue between the two nations.
